THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES

 
 A MAID 
 OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 A Romance of Peter Stuyvesant's Time 
 
 Br 
 
 AMELIA E. BARR 
 
 AUTHOR OF "A Bow OF ORANGE RIBBON,'* 
 "A MAID OF MAIDEN LANE," ETC.
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY 
 DODD, MEAD & COMPANY
 
 p-s 
 
 I Dedicate this book to 
 GENERAL PETER STUYVESANT, 
 
 Governor of New Netherland, 
 A. D. 16471664. 
 
 Confidant, that wherever he now dwells, and by 
 
 whatever name known, he is fulfilling God's 
 
 will and work with triumph and acclaim.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CITY OF NEW 
 
 YORK 1 
 
 II. THE BALL IN THE FORT .... 29 
 
 III. AGRATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH . . 61 
 
 IV. THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY . . . 83 
 
 V. THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY . . 115 
 
 VI. THE BONDMAN > 149 
 
 VII. THE SOWING OF SORROW .... 176 
 
 VIII. LORD MclvAR's OFFER . . . . 207 
 
 IX. THE BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE . . 234 
 
 X. CAPTIVES AT SEA . . . . . . 262 
 
 XL AT CASTLE IVAE .... . > 293 
 
 XII. GAEL'S TRIAL 319 
 
 XIII. THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM . 345 
 
 XIV. STUYVESANT AND ANOTHER . . . 373
 
 CHAPTER ONE 
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 
 
 IT was the feast of Candlemas, the second of 
 February A. D. 1653, and the Birthday of the 
 City of New York;* a fine winter day, cold and 
 clear with a glorious sunshine over land and sea. 
 The frosted trees sparkled and shone above the 
 white streets, noisy with a happy crowd of men, 
 women and children. The men had an air of 
 triumphant gravity, the women, dressed in their 
 best garments, were visiting from house to house, 
 and the youths and maidens were going with 
 laughter and chattering to skate on the Collect 
 Pond or the East River. 
 
 For this was a day of rejoicing, and there was 
 a release from work of every kind. It was the 
 birthday of a new city in the world; and its citi 
 zens may have felt though they could not see 
 the glory of its future. They had spent seven 
 teen years in remonstrances against the autocratic 
 rule of Governors who followed their own wills and 
 whims ; but now the Great Company whose subjects 
 they were had granted them a civic government, 
 after the free and noble pattern of their Father- 
 * New York was then called New Amsterdam 
 1
 
 2 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 land. They had won a great victory; its result 
 was music in their ears, and they eagerly followed 
 the official with the Proclamation in his hand as 
 he read to a fanfare of trumpets and the rolling 
 of drums the welcome words. They could not 
 hear them too often. From the Fort to the State 
 House and the various hotels, they escorted him 
 with exultant cheers, and were much displeased 
 because the cannon on the ramparts had shouted 
 no welcome to the new born city. 
 
 Its present Governor, the austere and despotic 
 Peter Stuyvesant would have spiked every one of 
 them rather than have set them booming over such 
 an event. 
 
 " There is nothing to rej oice over, Anna," he 
 said angrily when his sister entered his presence 
 with this request; "nothing to rejoice over." 
 
 " The people are calling for the cannon, Peter," 
 she answered, " and they have a right " 
 
 " They have no right not a rag of a right ! 
 The cannon belong to the Company. Dost thou 
 think I will use the Company's powder to help the 
 bawling of rebels against its lawful, supreme au 
 thority? Thundering, blundering idiots, all of 
 them, but the devil will send the consequences fast 
 upon their heels that is to be hoped and looked 
 for yes, indeed ! " 
 
 Anna Stuyvesant Bayard was a tall, fair 
 woman, with clear, blue eyes, placid countenance, 
 and a resolute mouth and chin. She drew a
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 3 
 
 chair opposite her brother, and sat down; and 
 the angry man was instantly disconcerted. 
 
 " Give them the cannon, Peter. They are re 
 joicing over their right. If, instead of being: 
 Governor of New Amsterdam thou wert one of its 
 citizens, no one would make more noise than Peter 
 Stuyvesant." 
 
 " Anna, the citizens of New Amsterdam are a 
 mob of all races and conditions, with enough of 
 English among them to breed treason naturally. 
 It is a mob, Anna, a mob. Is a mob fit to be 
 trusted with self-government? As for the Eng 
 lish " 
 
 " They are rich and respectable." 
 
 " They are malignant fellows, disturbers of the 
 peace, never satisfied. Somebody is always injur 
 ing them. They are born rebels, born usurpers of 
 other men's rights. They are also godless men 
 who never attend divine service, or take the Com 
 munion. I know them, Anna! Yes, I know 
 them!" 
 
 " The English are not in the question." 
 
 " Confound them ! They are the whole ques 
 tion. They joy themselves in exciting the peo 
 ple against the servants of the Company, and their 
 sovereign rulers. This trouble is of their brew- 
 ing." 
 
 " Before there were any English here the Dutch 
 were imploring the Company for a civic govern 
 ment."
 
 4 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Civic government, indeed ! Mob government, 
 rather ! A fine mess they will get the colony into. 
 God ordered Kings, and Rulers; Principalities 
 and Powers. He said nothing about the mob 
 governing themselves." 
 
 " God gave way to the mob, and let them have 
 their desire." 
 
 " He did not." 
 
 " Peter, thou hast forgotten. Before the Jews 
 chose Saul, God had been their King. But when 
 they objected to God, and wished to govern them 
 selves, the universal public demand was one which 
 even God recognised, and submitted to." 
 
 " Anna Bayard, we are Christians not 
 Jews." 
 
 "I think the Massachusetts Colony " 
 
 " I won't have that Colony named ! It is made 
 up of low-minded, greedy creatures; niggardly, 
 money-loving men, full of valor on a foraging 
 expedition I have tried to do right by every man; 
 but the dishonest abuse me, and the stupid mis 
 understand me. I wish that God, ordinarily or 
 extraordinarily, would show me what to do among 
 such a low, unreasonable crowd." 
 
 " Well, Peter 
 
 " I tell you, Anna, eighteen languages may be 
 heard on our streets. For such a rabble of a city, 
 there is only one good government, and that is the 
 will of a strong, wise, honourable man." 
 
 "Like thyself?"
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 5 
 
 "Yes, twenty times yes! I have been a good 
 governor, yet they complain and complain of me, 
 end without end. It is treason to complain of 
 magistrates. Yes, it is high treason." 
 
 " If they should deserve it, Peter? " 
 
 " It is treason, whether they deserve it or not. 
 Men who do so, should be thrown into a dungeon 
 they should live on bread and water they; 
 should be hung hanging is too good for them. 
 I W ould " 
 
 His temper had risen with every declaration, 
 until it dominated, not only his words, but his ac 
 tions. He struck the table violently, and his 
 voice rose and rose, until it reached the scream 
 ing alto of an uncontrolled passion. 
 
 Then the door of the room was gently opened, 
 and a very pretty woman entered. She was small 
 but well-formed, with large, soft hazel eyes, and a 
 complexion rosy and brown as an apricot. Her 
 hair was fashionably dressed, her clothing of rich 
 material and glowing colours, and its make after 
 the last French mode. On the floor her high heels 
 made a tap-tapping, and the Governor turned 
 slightly and looked at her. She answered the look 
 with a smile, and the next moment laid her small 
 hand on his shoulder. 
 
 " My dear Peter ! " she exclaimed, " I am afraid 
 Anna is troubling thee " 
 
 * I was only trying to make Peter do what he 
 ought to do, Judith."
 
 6 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " But always Peter does what he ought to do ! 
 Is not that the truth, dear? " 
 
 " There are some people who think I never do 
 what I ought to do, Judith." 
 
 " No, no, Peter. Always thou art wise and 
 prudent, but the people whom thou hast to govern 
 are the most ungovernable creatures in the whole 
 world. I do think that." 
 
 " They are idiots and fools, Judith. And this 
 hullabaloo and uproar is because they have at last 
 worried a city government out of the Company. 
 There is nothing wrong with my government." 
 
 " It is perfect. It is much too good for such 
 ungrateful men and women. But if thou wilt re 
 member, Peter, twelve of these idiots are coming 
 at two o'clock to dine with thee, and no doubt 
 they will begin coming at one. And thou art not 
 dressed as Director General Peter Stuyvesant 
 ought to be. Look at me ! " She spread out her 
 skirts, and beamed upon the angry man, and his 
 temper waned and wasted, so that in a few mo 
 ments, Anna rose and left the room. But she did 
 not forget the last word so dear to women; for 
 as she held the door open for her exit, she said : 
 
 " Peter, set the cannon booming for the people. 
 It is their right." 
 
 " I'll be shot if I do ! " was the Governor's an 
 swer; but it was lost in the somewhat emphatic 
 closing of the door. 
 
 " Peter, thou must make some haste. Allard
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 7 
 
 Anthony will be here before anyone, and he will 
 be dressed like Solomon in all his glory. Put on 
 thy velvet suit with the slashed sleeves, and thy 
 Flemish laces." 
 
 " Nay, I like the plain linen collar best, 
 Judith." 
 
 " Please thyself, but wear the Company's scarf, 
 and the ring they gave thee. On the table in thy 
 room is thy new black skull cap, and I have em 
 broidered it round with a little wreath of gold 
 laurel leaves. It will be like a diadem round thy 
 head, and when thou art dressed, like a king thou 
 will look, every inch of thee." 
 
 Peter laughed. " I will tell thee something, 
 Judith," he said, " Van Duncklagen called me to 
 Van der Donck, ' Our Great Muscovy Duke.' He 
 said further : " I was like the wolf ; the longer I 
 lived, the worse I bit." 
 
 "Who told thee that?" 
 
 " One who saw the letter in which it was writ." 
 
 " Then that one told what was secretly given to 
 him. Such a man I would not trust further than 
 I could see him. He is a little villain, and is only, 
 waiting for the opportunity to be a big villain. 
 Have a care of him, Peter." 
 
 " I fear him not. If I could fear any man, 
 Judith, it would be Paul Van Ruyven. He says 
 few words, but he hates me, that is as plain as 
 the lion on his guilders. And he takes every oc 
 casion to thank God he has his own business, and
 
 8 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 is none of the West India Company's ser 
 vants." 
 
 " Thou should have asked him why the West 
 India Company was not good enough to be his 
 master? " 
 
 " I did that." 
 
 "Well, then?" 
 
 " He answered ! ' Because I am a man of honour 
 and honesty, and it is well known the Company's 
 servants both bite hard, and carry away.' And 
 that is true enough, Judith; but he need not to 
 have added : * Moreover, I like not to have men of 
 small behaviour set over me ! ' With that I took 
 fire and gave him some words which he has set 
 down in his memory against me." 
 
 " He can bring nothing evil against thee to 
 pass. Dress, as I have told thee. Go down and 
 look thy bravest, and tell these contradictious 
 men all thy mind, and there will not be one of 
 them able to say ' no ' to thy ' yes.' " 
 
 And as it often happens, while Peter Stuyves- 
 ant and his wife were talking of Van Ruyven, 
 Ragel Van Ruyven was talking to her husband 
 about the Governor. 
 
 " Make thyself of some importance, Paul," she 
 said. " This is the day thou hast waited and 
 wished for. Be glad in it. Ever thou art too 
 quiet." 
 
 " Listen then to the noise on the street. I am 
 tired of it. When the town was quieter, men had 
 more business, and more contentment."
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 9 
 
 " Tell me then, how any town could be quiet, 
 or even peaceful, with Peter Stuyvesant at the 
 head of it. If he but come into a room and there 
 is only one man in that room, the quarrel will be 
 gin. Since ever he landed in New Amsterdam 
 there have been quarrels going on. If you only 
 look at the man, you feel as if you had got a 
 challenge to fight him. That is so, Paul." 
 
 " I know; I have felt just that way." 
 
 " I thought this day thou wouldst be happy. 
 For now we shall govern ourselves by the law 
 and the people's votes, as in the Fatherland, 
 and the great Director must abase himself a lit 
 tle." 
 
 "Not he!" 
 
 " But he must give us what has been granted. 
 Thou, and others will see to that." 
 
 " He will strip and pare down, and interfere, 
 until little will be left; and there will be more 
 quarrelling than ever. That is what I fear." 
 
 " Hoping is as cheap as fearing, Paul. Wait 
 and see." 
 
 " To speak it plain, Ragel, the Company gave 
 Stuyvesant absolute power, and never has he 
 been backward in using it. Will he give any of it 
 away to a City Council? He will not." 
 
 " But the Company " 
 
 " The Company do not want us to have a civic 
 government far from it. Their own will and 
 way, through a Director sworn to their interest, 
 is what they wish. The States General forced the
 
 10 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Company to let us have the rights of our Father 
 land, but Stuyvesant will have private instruc 
 tions, and these he will follow." 
 
 " And then? " 
 
 " Will come quarrelling, and fines, and im 
 prisonment and in some way or other, Stuyves 
 ant will make void everything granted us." 
 
 " I will hope that all the good men in New 
 Amsterdam will be too many, and too much for 
 that one man. Keep thy eyes and ears open, 
 Paul, I shall want to see and hear through them, 
 and Agratha also will be curious." 
 
 " Where is Agratha? She should not be from 
 her home in the mornings. She ought to be help 
 ing thee, and learning about house cleaning and 
 liouse keeping." 
 
 " Thou knowest she is lifted above that care. 
 Why should she learn how to clean a house ? " 
 
 "Where is she?" 
 
 " At the Anthonys'. She is learning to speak 
 high English from them. It is good for her." 
 
 " 'Twould be better, she was learning how to 
 cook a good dinner at thy side. The Anthonys 
 are not much liked." 
 
 " That is because they dress so showily, and 
 as for the fashion, not even the lady Judith 
 Stuyvesant can match them. There is no harm 
 in that." 
 
 " They are English to the top-notch, and live 
 in the English quarter. Allard Anthony calls it
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 11 
 
 the ' Court End ' of the town city I mean. I 
 want not Agratha to get English customs and 
 ways nor yet their high English speech." 
 
 " 'Tis the Court way." 
 
 " The Grammar way is good enough. What 
 do the Anthonys know of the Court? I think not 
 much." 
 
 "Well, well. We will talk about Agratha's 
 English to-morrow. Go now to thy Dutch Gover 
 nor. Perhaps he may please thee better to-day." 
 
 She watched her husband out of sight, and then 
 had the fire built up and the hearth swept, and sat 
 down to her wheel. Its humming was conducive 
 to thought, and her daughter Agratha always 
 furnished her with plenty of material. For 
 Agratha was a fairy child, who had had both her 
 hands filled with gold before she was five years 
 old. At that age her uncle Christopher Barent 
 died, and left to his niece Agratha Van Ruyven 
 verything he possessed. 
 
 This man, though the financially great man of 
 his day, has been forgotten, for he did nothing to 
 give humanity cause to remember him. Many 
 great works and charities appealed to him for 
 help, and he had had moments in which their 
 claims might have been listened to; but one day, 
 as he was carrying his little niece about the gar 
 den, she nestled her pretty face close against his, 
 and said in her baby patois : " Ratha loves 
 Uncle Chris, she loves him in her heart." This
 
 12 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 was a love he could not doubt. He blessed the 
 child unawares, and told her to say the words 
 again and again, and a great love sprang up with 
 in him for the beautiful child who " loved him in 
 her heart." 
 
 From this cup of love he drank for nearly three 
 years, and then dying left all his great wealth in 
 return for it farms and warehouses in Holland 
 and his splendid residence at the Hague; all his 
 large holdings in the ships and shares of the rich 
 East India Company and rolling money in the 
 bank of Amsterdam; large interests in England, 
 mostly in real estate and in New Netherland 
 one vast track of land, lying between the Hudson 
 and Passaic, and smaller ones in the best settled 
 portion of Long Island. 
 
 But though now nearly sixteen years of age 
 Agratha had been told nothing of her inheritance. 
 It had been her uncle's special instruction that 
 she should not anticipate her fortune. " She 
 shall have my gift," he said, " with the joy of sur 
 prise on it. A full joy she shall have, not one 
 that has been dribbling away in years of weary 
 waiting." 
 
 But although the secret had been carefully kept 
 from the world, it was difficult for the mother to 
 be silent. Agratha was such a vivid element in 
 her future that it seemed as if the girl herself had 
 a certain prefiguration of her destiny; as if the 
 Inner Woman, consciously or unconsciously, was
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 13 
 
 forming a personality proper for the mistress of 
 a great fortune. The love of splendor was inborn 
 and native to her, and extravagance of all kinds 
 the natural way in which to spend money. No 
 clothing was too rich, no equipage too ornate, 
 no house too large. Nothing she saw in New 
 Amsterdam satisfied her ideas of a possible and 
 sufficient magnificence. 
 
 For she read much history, and she was con 
 stantly in the company of the best English 
 families, who carry their traditions and their 
 family romances all over the world with them. 
 To their tales of the grandeur of old palaces and 
 manor houses, and the stately pomp and luxury 
 of Court festivals, she listened greedily. These 
 stories, doubtless exaggerated by time and dis 
 tance, fed her imagination ; she dwelt in old roman 
 tic castles, rode and danced with nobles, and 
 feasted at the King's table. In those days there 
 were no novels, but she told herself a thousand 
 stories, and Agratha Van Ruyven was always 
 iheir heroine. It is a dull soul that has no pre 
 monitions. Agratha's soul was eager and lav 
 ish, it promised her all things desirable, even 
 though their possession seemed then an impossibil- 
 ity. 
 
 Often while she sat sewing by her mother's side, 
 she talked to her of what Lady Moody, or the 
 Allertons, or Stillwells had said, and afterward 
 when she freely expressed her own desires and in-
 
 14 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 tentions, Madame Van Ruyven did not discourage 
 them. On the contrary, her usual answer was : 
 
 " What may happen when thou art a woman, 
 no one can tell, Ratha." 
 
 " Agratha, moeder. It is much finer to say 
 Agratha. Madame De Montaine is always called 
 Agratha, and Lady Moody told me one day 
 that Agratha was the name of a duchess." 
 
 " Well then, thou may be a duchess some day. 
 It may so be. Stranger things have happened." 
 
 " Then I should be spoken of as, Her Grace the 
 Duchess Agratha. And his High Mightiness 
 Peter Stuyvesant would have to bow to me, and 
 be polite. Now, he is often rude and disagree 
 able, moeder, and I wish I did not have to go to 
 the Fort for my lessons. Why do I go to the 
 Fort, moeder? I would like to go with the other 
 girls to the City Hall, and " 
 
 " It is a great favour, and a great honour that 
 the Governor gives thee. For his own help and 
 convenience he brought here to be his Secretary, 
 the famous Domine Luyck, from Leyden from, 
 the great University of Leyden Remember that ! 
 And because thy uncle was, in youth, his com 
 rade and friend, he looks a little after thy educa 
 tion. Very proud and thankful thou ought to 
 feel." 
 
 "My uncle's friend, he may have been; I do 
 not think he is my father's friend." 
 
 "What can thou know about men and their
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 15 
 
 friends? They are not like women, always say 
 ing sweet words to one another. Men often say 
 hard words to each other and yet remain good 
 friends." 
 
 " They say bad words, dreadful words. The 
 Governor says them very often, if Lady Judith 
 is not present." 
 
 " And if she is present, then he does not say 
 them. Is that so, eh?" 
 
 " That is so. She looks at him and he is quiet. 
 But his wood leg is not quiet ; he knocks the floor 
 with it very hard. It says the bad words for 
 him." 
 
 "And then?" 
 
 " Madame smiles, and smiles, and very soon the 
 Governor goes away, and Madame has the best of 
 it. Oh, I listen and look, and I put this and that 
 together, moeder; and when I am a Lord's wife, 
 or a duke's wife, I shall behave as Madame Stuy- 
 yesant does." 
 
 Between mother and daughter such conversa 
 tions as this were frequent, and they supplied 
 Ragel Van Ruyven with plenty of romantic 
 thoughts, as she sat at her wheel that memorable 
 second day of February. Indeed the afternoon 
 went so pleasantly and swiftly, that she was sud 
 denly astonished to see the grey night looking in 
 through the window. Then she rose, set by her 
 wheel, and called a man to throw some light wood 
 upon the red bed logs, and just as they filled the
 
 i 
 
 16 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 big living room with their dancing lights, the door 
 was pushed swiftly open, and Agratha entered. 
 She ran straight to her mother, crying in the 
 sweet treble voice of early girlhood: 
 
 " Moeder, moeder ! Look at me ; I am wearing 
 snowflakes." She was a slight little figure, 
 dressed in a dark cloth pelisse, trimmed with rac 
 coon, a crimson satin hood and overboots of rac 
 coon closed with small silver latchets. She made 
 a charming picture for a moment, as she stood in 
 the red light of the blazing wood. Joyously she 
 laughed and chattered as her mother helped her 
 to take off her outer garments, and when the 
 crimson hood was removed, the charm of the girl 
 was more perfectly revealed. It was the magic 
 of a face full of the faculty for enjoyment; the 
 features finely modelled, the eyes dark blue, laugh 
 ing with boundless good humour and sweetness, and 
 a complexion like the freshest of wild roses. Her 
 golden brown hair was pushed behind her pretty 
 ears, and then left to wave and curl in picturesque 
 freedom, and her clear, sweet voice had in it tones 
 that only the spring birds know. 
 
 The grace of a girl allowed to grow up in per 
 fect liberty was in all her movements that phy 
 sical grace which comes not by the dancing mas 
 ter, but by light, freedom, exercise and plenty of 
 fresh air. She carried herself proudly, and any 
 one whe wished her friendship or company, had to 
 court her, she would never court them. This
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 17 
 
 latter quality had been quickly noticed by Lady 
 Moody, who declared it to be the natural democ 
 racy of a fine natured child ; for she added " the 
 noblest children, whether they be male or female, 
 are born democrats." And as Lady Moody was 
 herself an uncompromising democrat, and had 
 suffered many things for her opinions, we may 
 in this matter accept her dictum. 
 
 In less time than it has taken to make these ob 
 servations on the girl, her snow sprinkled gar 
 ments had been removed. Mother and daughter 
 were talking merrily, as the latter unclasped her 
 fur boots, and stepped lightly out of them. Then 
 she shook herself gently, went to the hearth and 
 stood before the fire. Her bright hair, dark 
 green dress and scarlet shoes, tied with a bow of 
 ribbon, made her a delightful picture in the glim 
 mering lights and shadows of the blazing wood. 
 
 " And who brought thee home, dear one ? Was 
 it the Governor's man, William ? " 
 
 " With my fader I came home." 
 
 " Where then is thy fader? " 
 
 " At the garden gate, finishing his quarrel with 
 Mr. Van Derlyn. Soon it will be over, for I 
 heard fader say : * That is all about it, Sir, all 
 about it.' " 
 
 "About what?" 
 
 " The Governor, I suppose. When men quar 
 rel, it is about the Governor, or the English one 
 or the other."
 
 18 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " That is the truth, but how dost thou know- 
 it? " 
 
 " Moeder, when a girl is more than fifteen years 
 old, she feels things; she does not need to know 
 them." 
 
 There was the sound of heavy footsteps, as Paul 
 Van Ruyven opened, and shut and locked the front 
 door. " It snows, it blows, it is zero cold," he 
 muttered crossly, " and no one is going out again 
 this night." 
 
 " No one is wanting to go out, Paul. What is 
 the matter with thee? Art thou cross? " 
 
 There was no answer to this question, for while 
 Madame was speaking a young man had entered 
 the room, and was assisting Van Ruyven to re 
 move his wet cloak and boots. No one noticed 
 him, and his presence was evidently a common and 
 expected event. Yet in that youth's person was 
 embodied such ruin and wrath, such loss and sor 
 row, as will never again occur in this world un 
 less the world runs backward to conditions, now 
 almost forgotten. 
 
 He was not handsome, yet no one passed him 
 without a second look, for his stature was great, 
 and he was extraordinarily graceful and supple 
 in his movements. No Indian could outrun him, 
 and his agility was a constant source of wonder 
 to the slow and heavy Dutchman. Only that morn 
 ing Van Ruyven had seen him place his hand on 
 the top of Timothy Hall's five-barred gate, and
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 19 
 
 then vault over it like a bird. But his face was 
 thin and sombre, even sad, his hair red, and his 
 large brown eyes nearly always cast down. And 
 he spoke little and rarely, even his " yes " and 
 " no " were generally signified by a movement of 
 assent or refusal. 
 
 However, his short, speechless visit to the living 
 room made a change in its atmosphere. Van 
 Ruyven, thoroughly comfortable in his warm 
 house coat and slippers, forgot his irritation, and 
 with the utmost satisfaction sought the comfort 
 of his big chair on the hearth. Agratha was 
 shaking up its soft cushions and beaming a loving 
 welcome on his approach. Madame was setting 
 the supper table; the tinkling of china and glass 
 made a pleasant sound, and whenever the inner 
 door was opened, a delicious aroma of coffee and 
 hot wheat bread and cooking meat, floated in with 
 refreshing suggestions of good things to come. 
 The antique homeliness of the room, bright with 
 fire and candle light, was what Van Ruyven loved. 
 He looked at his still handsome wife moving about 
 between the table and the cupboards, then glanced 
 upward into the bright, beautiful face of his little 
 daughter and flung off frets of every kind, as he 
 would drop a garment that hurt him, as he said 
 with a sigh of thankfulness: 
 
 " Glad I shall be of my supper. I am a hungry 
 man, Ragel." 
 
 " Listen once ! " cried Ragel. " Listen once,
 
 20 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Agratha. With the Governor thy father dined 
 not three hours since, and he is a hungry man ! " 
 Then with a laugh, she asked: 
 
 " Had thou not a good dinner at the Governor's, 
 Paul?" 
 
 " The dinner was not bad for men who like that 
 kind of dinner. For me I want something I can 
 chew between my teeth." 
 
 " To be sure, but then Madame Stuyvesant's 
 dinners are always praised." 
 
 " They are good enough for women and chil 
 dren. How the Governor keeps up his temper 
 on them I know not." 
 
 " Perhaps she could not manage Peter, if she 
 fed him on good fat sausage meat, or red juicy 
 beef. Some men have to be fed low. What did 
 thou have to eat? " 
 
 " Eat ! The first dish was not eatable, we took 
 it with a spoon." 
 
 " Soup, I suppose? " 
 
 " Clear soup they called it. Very clear indeed 
 it was, just like the barley water thou gave me 
 when I had the fever." 
 
 " Many people like such soup, Paul. When 
 Madame Stuyvesant introduced it, everyone 
 thought it tasty and genteel." 
 
 " It may do for cradles, and sick beds, Ragel. 
 I like my soup as thou makes it ; rich and brown, 
 with a taste of vegetables in it, and little joints 
 of ox tail through it."
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK SI 
 
 " Still, Paul, Madame Stuyvesant seasons 
 delicately." 
 
 " Well then, season is not substance, and thy 
 seasoning is the best I ever tasted." 
 
 " What else did thou have? " 
 
 " Chicken done up in a French name fricassee. 
 I like thy chicken pot-pie better." 
 
 " Fricassee and pot-pie are much the same 
 thing, Paul." 
 
 " They don't taste the same, and there was 
 some yellowish powder on the fricassee, they called 
 it curry. The devil must give you the appetite 
 to eat it." 
 
 " Curried meats, and curried rice, are now the 
 fashion, Paul." 
 
 " Then God help men, if fashion is to order 
 their food, as well as their clothes." 
 
 " Always, Paul, thou will set the fashion for 
 thy own table. What was next served to thee? " 
 
 " Some cold, raw miscarriage of a dish, called 
 a salad leaves covered with oil. Not even in 
 winter weather, would a cow touch them ! " 
 
 " Fader, dear, Lady Moody always has a salad 
 to her dinner. She grows lettuce under glass for 
 it." 
 
 " Well, then, I am sorry for Lady Moody. A 
 woman of her rank ought to know better." 
 
 " She says the great Oliver Cromwell delights 
 himself in a good salad." 
 
 " Oliver Cromwell did not do his fighting on
 
 22 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 oiled lettuce leaves, I will swear to that. Now, 
 Ragel, give me some more sausage and fried 
 cakes, and Agratha will tell us where she spent 
 her day." 
 
 " First of all, fader, I went to the Fort and the 
 Domine heard some of my lessons, but not all of 
 them. In two hours I was free to do as I wished, 
 and I decided to go to the Anthonys'. But as I 
 was going down Broad Street I met Anna de Sille, 
 and she asked me to go home with her. Moeder, 
 she is only fourteen years old, and she is the 
 mistress of her fader's fine house. They are going 
 to have a large supper party to night, and Anna 
 has the management of everything." 
 
 " Well, then," said Van Ruyven, " the most of 
 the men who were at the Governor's to dinner, will 
 be at de Sille's to-night. Then they will say what 
 they think of Director General Peter Stuyvesant ; 
 and some of them think as bad as they can of him. 
 Nicasins de Sille can talk plain enough when he 
 thinks it safe." 
 
 " You should say the Hon. Nicasins de Sille ; 
 Anna always gives her fader his title." 
 
 " Anna is a silly child. Does she think New 
 Amsterdam is the Hague ? " 
 
 " Anna says her fader entertains here, just as 
 splendidly as he did at the Hague. She showed 
 me their famous dinner set of blue and white china, 
 and their tea set brought from Pekin, with strange 
 figures painted on every piece; and oh, moeder,
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 23 
 
 such silver! and such crystal! And Anna is so 
 bright and clever, and has so many beautiful 
 dresses, and is so fond of me. I am proud of her 
 friendship, it is a great honour to me." 
 
 " Nonsense, I say ! Her friendship is no honour 
 to thee! it is the other way." 
 
 " Well, then, Agratha," interrupted Van Ruy- 
 ven, " did thou go to the Anthonys' afterwards ? " 
 
 " No, fader. Anna and I sat a long time talk 
 ing and eating." 
 
 " Very foolishly, no doubt." 
 
 " No, moeder, we had a good meal, and I liked 
 it. We had some chocolate, and krullers, and 
 apple pasties, and whipped cream, and nuts and 
 raisins, and an orange beside." 
 
 " And I dare say, thou wilt have a headache 
 to-morrow." 
 
 " I think it will be fader who will have the head 
 ache. Poor fader, with the clear soup and raw 
 vegetables ! " 
 
 "Well, then, did thou go to the Anthonys'?" 
 
 " Yes, fader, but all was in confusion there, and 
 I felt myself in the way." 
 
 "In confusion! Why?" 
 
 " There is to be a supper and dance at the 
 Stillwells', and a young Scotch Lord is to be one 
 of the guests. Elizabeth Anthony said she had 
 seen him, and he was handsome as a prince ; young 
 and gay and beautifully dressed." 
 
 " That is too much, I believe it not."
 
 24 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Moeder, Miss Anthony and her sister have 
 got such pretty gauze dresses to dance in, and 
 white sandals, moeder. I wish I was a young 
 lady ! I want to go to a real ball so much ! " 
 
 " Thy day will come, Agratha. Wish not thy 
 good, sweet girlhood away. Was there any talk 
 of the Moodys? " 
 
 " Lady Moody is at the Stillwells', fader. She 
 came in to meet Lord Mclvar, who is the son 
 of her cousin. Sir Henry is not coming, I be 
 lieve." 
 
 " That is strange." 
 
 ** No, moeder. Sir Henry likes books better 
 than men and women, and I heard Mrs. Anthony 
 say, * Sir Henry Moody lives among the angels.' 
 I did not like that, for I think she was mocking 
 at Sir Henry." 
 
 " I hope thou kept quiet. Sir Henry Moody 
 can fight his own battles." 
 
 " I said only, Sir Henry is very good, and I 
 wish I was as good as he is. Then Elizabeth An 
 thony called me a little Quakeress, and I went 
 away." 
 
 " Elizabeth had no right to call thee such a 
 name. The Governor would be angry at her ; for 
 he likes thee, and he hates a Quaker. It is a great 
 pity Elizabeth is so sarcastical." 
 
 On these subjects Madame and her daughter 
 fell into a pleasant gossip, for Agratha had heard 
 a great deal of conversation between Madame
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 35 
 
 Stuyvesant and Bayard, concerning Lord Mc- 
 Ivar and the hospitalities to be shown him. 
 " They are going to give a ball at the Fort for 
 him," she said softly, with a sigh, " and do you 
 think, moeder, the Governor will ask me? If he 
 does not, I shall coax Madame to do so. I only 
 want to look on ! " 
 
 " No doubt the Governor will ask thee. He is 
 always so proud to say to any stranger ' this is 
 my ward, Agratha Van Ruyven.' } 
 
 "Why is he proud?" 
 
 " Because God has made thee so beautiful. I 
 will see to it, that thy best white dress is in order." 
 
 " Moeder, I want a new dress of white gauze 
 with silver stars all over it, like Elizabeth An 
 thony's dancing dress." 
 
 " Well, then, it may be so, if I can get thy fader 
 in the mood to give it to thee." 
 
 They had let this conversation gradually fall 
 into low tones, and Van Ruyven had apparently 
 been lulled to sleep by the soft monotony of their 
 voices. But when the big Dutch clock, with its 
 little ships rocking on the waves every time it 
 ticked, struck nine, he instantly stood up, alert 
 and wide awake. Sharply clapping his big hands, 
 he threw open the door leading into the kitchen, 
 and immediately two men and two women entered 
 and ranged themselves in a row behind Madame's 
 chair. 
 
 Then Agratha laid upon the table a copy of the
 
 superb and scholarly States General version of the 
 Bible A. D. 1619, a massive volume a foot and a 
 half long, one foot wide, and half a foot thick, 
 with its four corners ornamented by chased tri 
 angles of solid silver. The girl carried the book 
 reverently upon her outstretched hands to the 
 table, and then took her place between her father 
 and mother. 
 
 " We are standing in God's presence," said 
 Van Ruyven. " Listen, then, to His Words ! " 
 In a slow, ponderous, but very effective manner, 
 he read the one hundred and twenty-first Psalm, 
 and at its close all joined in reciting the short, 
 beautiful evening prayer from the liturgy of the 
 Dutch church: " The day is far spent, the night 
 is at hand, temper our hearts to good thoughts 
 so that our sleep itself, may be to Thy glory" 
 The invocation was followed by a few moments of 
 perfect silence; the simple rite being over the 
 men and maids went quietly away, and Agratha 
 lighted her candle, and bid her parents good-night. 
 Her father walked with her to the foot of the 
 staircase and watched her out of sight; he had 
 begun the practice when she was a little child, and 
 he could not be happy if he omitted it. 
 
 When he returned to the living room, Gus was 
 bringing in a little brass kettle full of boiling 
 water, and Madame was setting out the Hollands 
 and sugar and the goblet in which to mix the bed 
 time drink. Van Ruyven filled his pipe, and the
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF NEW YORK 27 
 
 man Gus took a hot coal from the fire with the 
 tongs and lit it for him. 
 
 " Good-night to thee, Gus," said Van Ruyven. 
 " Have my boots and cloak fit for me by eight 
 o'clock in the morning." Gus bowed assent, and 
 left the room. 
 
 " That boy is next door to dumb, Ragel. Can 
 he not talk? " 
 
 " That question I do not ask myself, Paul. 
 There is noise enough with the other three." 
 
 " Sit down, I want to speak to thee now." 
 
 "Why not before, then?" 
 
 " Many reasons I had for silence. I care not to 
 speak against Stuyvesant before Agratha that 
 reason will do for to-night." 
 
 " Paul, thou art learning thyself to hate the 
 Governor. That is unwise. While he is Gover 
 nor, we are as much at his disposal as the shoes 
 on his feet. We must walk as he wills. It were 
 better for thee to try and think well of him." 
 
 " There is good sense in thy words, Ragel. Also 
 I wish not to be unjust, for I remember well that 
 Isaac Allerton said to me, we ought to judge a 
 great man by his excellencies not by his faults." 
 
 "And surely Stuyvesant is a great man? 
 Many say that, Paul." 
 
 " Stuyvesant is a magtigen (mighty) man in 
 his own ways, but his ways are not often our 
 ways. Sit near me, and I will tell thee what words 
 he said as we eat our dinner to-day."
 
 28 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Then Ragel Van Ruyven drew her chair to her 
 husband's side, and after he had taken a drink, 
 and smoked a minute or two, he was ready for that 
 confidential talk, which is the prudence and solace 
 of all husbands worthy of a wise and loving wife.
 
 CHAPTER TWO 
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 
 
 RAGEL began the conversation with a reference to 
 his poor dinner but Paul answered : " No, Ragel, 
 it was a good dinner for those who like their meat 
 after the French fashion. And I can tell thee, if 
 the food was Frenchified, the talk was straight 
 forward Dutch. The Governor stripped his 
 words naked. He left none of us any excuse to 
 say we did not understand him." 
 
 " So far, good. Was he handsomely dressed? " 
 
 " He wore the Company's colors as a scarf, and 
 the big diamond ring they gave him on his right 
 hand. On his head was a fine silk skull cap, with 
 gold leaves raised round it, and a gold cord and 
 tassel." 
 
 " I saw Madame making that cap. It was very 
 handsome." 
 
 " And though he was in his own house a 
 trumpeter announced his approach, and his four 
 halberdiers, with their axes, walked before him. 
 Truly, Ragel, if he had two legs instead of one, I 
 say plainly he would be a most majestical man. 
 As he entered the room, we rose, and as soon 
 as he was seated he began to reprove us."
 
 30 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 "Well, then, for what? " 
 
 " Thou guess for what." 
 
 " The rejoicing in the city? " 
 
 " Listen once ! for our want of piety, and our 
 disrespect toward God," 
 
 " Now Paul, thou art making a deceit ! " 
 
 " The truth I tell thee. He said ' if we con 
 sidered the occasion one to glory in, he thought 
 men brought up in the Kirk would have had the 
 decency to praise God first. But no! Even 
 Domine Megapolensis had not thought of that 
 duty. Every house in the city was open for rev 
 elry, every mother's child eating and drinking and 
 making a vile noise over it. Only God's house was 
 shut and silent! If the change in the govern 
 ment was a case for triumph, why was it not 
 carried into God's house,' he asked, ' and were the 
 citizens ashamed to take it there? He believed 
 they were he hoped as much,' and so on." 
 
 " What nonsense ! " 
 
 " William Beekman said the fault could be 
 amended on the coming Sabbath, and Stuyvesant 
 answered, * Please God, I will take care of that.' 
 Then he asked me what I thought of the change 
 in the government; and I told him, that it was 
 a steady principle with me not to meddle with 
 other people's business. ' The government is the 
 business of Director General Stuyvesant,' I added, 
 * it is not my business.' And he was pleased with 
 my words and answered : * You are right, Van
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 31 
 
 Ruyven. The government is good as it is, and 
 those discontented men who are always complain 
 ing are not my friends.' " 
 
 " Well, then, if he is their enemy, they had 
 better go and live in another place." 
 
 " That is so, Ragel. When Stuyvesant can 
 pay back an injury, he does it item by item; and 
 usually he can pay that debt. But Ragel, there 
 is another side! If he is the friend of any man, 
 he will stand by him through thick and thin, 
 through fire and water, right or wrong to the very 
 end. I like that. A man should stick to his 
 friend." 
 
 " Even if he be such a one as the wicked Van 
 Tienhoven ? Every man, woman and child in New 
 Amsterdam hates Van Tienhoven, and all men 
 know that the spoils of the company stick to his 
 ribs. Yet Stuyvesant stands by him through 
 every evil report." 
 
 " A man must stand by his friends, that is so, 
 for our likes and our dislikes, Ragel, are often 
 beyond our understanding. And Stuyvesant is 
 a discerning man, yes, indeed. He knows human 
 beings as some persons know horses and cattle, 
 by just looking at them. I have seen him throw 
 one sharp quick glance at a stranger, and then I 
 am sure he knew exactly what manner of a man he 
 was." 
 
 " Then he ought to know Van Tienhoven." 
 
 " He does know him."
 
 32 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Then why does he stand by him? " 
 
 " Thou ask Stuyvesant ' why.' " 
 ,. "No; he will ask me, why I stand by thee? 
 Did he tell his company just what Holland has 
 done for us." 
 
 " Yes, he said the States General had given us 
 a municipal government like that of Amsterdam, 
 and graciously allowed us to elect our burgo 
 masters and schepens." 
 
 " Good ! Great ! What did Stuyvesant say to 
 that?" 
 
 " He said he would allow no elections. He 
 would appoint the city officials himself, and he 
 there and then appointed Arent Van Hattam and 
 Martin Cregier burgomasters, and Van Grist, Van 
 Gheel, and William Beekman schepens. When 
 Allard Anthony said the people would not be sat 
 isfied if they did not elect their officers, he stopped 
 him sharply, and taking the words from him said, 
 as he struck the table a blow that made the glass 
 shake and rattle, ' I will have no public elections ! 
 I will not have the men round me playing with 
 fire. Public elections ! what kind of representatives 
 would they give us? Fools tossed to the top, on 
 the wheels of chance; and the electors would be 
 still worse. I know what popular government 
 means. Christus! ' he shouted as he struck the 
 table again, ' no country is well governed that 
 asks the opinion of the mob. Popular Govern 
 ment ! Popular idiocy ! ' "
 
 THE BALE IN THE FORT 33 
 
 " Well then, he may be right, Paul. Did any 
 one answer him?" 
 
 " William Beekman, who can take more liberties 
 with Stuyvesant than any other man, said, * There 
 are exceptions, Governor,' and the Governor 
 shouted, * No, no, Schepen Beekman, not one.' 
 ' Holland! Fatherland! ' came like one voice 
 from the men at the table, and then Stuyvesant 
 passionately answered : ' Holland, God bless her, 
 is not in the latitude of 1653! She is a few cen 
 turies ahead. Be silent, all of you, and answer 
 me one question.' Then we sat still waiting for 
 the question, and after he had drunk off a goblet 
 of Portugal wine, he said : " Do you think it is 
 right and wise that the vote of every fool and 
 knave, of every blackguard and pauper, should 
 be as potential and valuable as the vote of the 
 wisest and noblest, the most learned and wealthy 
 in the land? A government on such a foundation 
 must come to an early end ; yes, likely to a violent 
 end. It ought to, it deserves to. It is contrary 
 to nature; it is contrary to order; it is of very 
 necessity destructive. For God's sake, and for 
 your own sakes, if you have any common sense, 
 judge this question by it." 
 
 " And what was the answer, Paul? " 
 
 " Every man lifted his glass and took a deepi 
 drink. There was a sort of murmur, what it 
 meant I could not understand, but the Governor 
 took it as an assent to his opinions. For when
 
 34 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Van Hattam asked what was to be done in such 
 a case, he said : ' We must put our feet down fiat 
 on all popular government pretensions, and one 
 of the most powerful snubs to base, beggarly polit 
 ical upstarts will be to inaugurate a great and 
 little Burgher Society as in Holland.' Van Hat 
 tam said, ' I see not, Governor.' The Governor 
 snapped him up like a whip lash and answered: 
 * Then you are as blind as a bat, burgomaster ! 
 You have lived too much in the wilderness? If 
 you cannot see that, the only way to keep 
 down and smash underfoot a beggarly low-minded, 
 greedy, popular government is to create over 
 against it an exclusive, dominant aristocracy. 
 That is now the first thing to be done, and I shall 
 move in that direction to-morrow; no later.' He 
 said these words and many more with his usual 
 sauce of Latin and Dutch oaths, and abusive 
 epithets." 
 
 " Paul, it is the man's way. Thou and others 
 should think how long he has been set over rough 
 soldiers, who like enough did not mind anything 
 he said, if it was not said in the devil's name. 
 Shall we be any safer or better off, because our 
 village has been made a city? That is the chief 
 thing." 
 
 " Well, then, I think not. It is a grudging 
 favour at the best, and I am sure Stuyvesant has 
 his private instructions from the West India 
 Company. Our dear * Hollow Land ' is so far.
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT S5 
 
 away, and the West India Company is at our 
 table, and on our hearth, and in our Kirk, and 
 our good or ill fortune is in its hand. Stuyvesant 
 told us plainly, not to imagine that a civic govern 
 ment had in any one lessened his power. He said 
 he should preside at every civic meeting if he 
 wished to do so, and also at all trials by the 
 Court; and bringing down both his hands furi 
 ously on the table, he advised us to remember, 
 that within all the bounds of New Netherland 
 Petrus Stuyvesant was Governor, Domine, and 
 Magistrate." 
 
 " So it is ! Dost thou not remember, Paul, 
 that about three years ago, when Holland sent 
 our burgher guard, arms and a stand of colours, 
 Stuyvesant would not allow the guard to have 
 them. Yes, and when they complained, he said 
 they had interfered with his power and pub 
 licly took away from them their pew in the 
 Kirk." 
 
 " I remember, Ragel, and I remember also that 
 when the guard followed him crying ' Give up 
 the colours ! ' he turned and faced them like a lion, 
 and shouted back : * I shall do as I please.' " 
 
 There was a few minutes' silence, while Paul 
 refilled his pipe and Ragel threw some fresh wood 
 on the fire. As she resumed her knitting, she 
 asked with a fresh curiosity: "What art thou 
 laughing at, Paul?" 
 
 " At Van Gheel," he answered. " He is used
 
 36 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 to drink beer only, and the Governor's heavy wine 
 was too much for him. He fell asleep at the 
 table, and made some queer noises, and Stuyvesant 
 looked at two waiting men, and they lifted him by 
 head and heels and carried him into another room. 
 I wonder me if he be yet sleeping and snoring 
 there? It was hard to keep the laugh secret, but 
 the Governor's face was like a stone, and before 
 the drunken man was out of sight, he turned to 
 Allard Anthony with a fight on his face." 
 
 " For what reason, Paul? " 
 
 " For asking the Governor if he had met the 
 young Scotch lord who was paying a visit to 
 Lady Moody? " 
 
 "Well then, had he?" 
 
 " Who can tell ! He said almost angrily : 
 * Mynheer Anthony, I take leave to say we all of us 
 know too many English. They are a race of un 
 principled, malignant, brazen villains. They go 
 bouncing and swaggering over the earth, as if it 
 belonged to them; and whether you believe me 
 or not, we shall have all we can do in New Ams 
 terdam to prevent the English from lifting the 
 latch of every house door, and thundering at the 
 Fort with no runaway knock. Well I know they 
 are preparing to do it at this very hour.' 
 
 " * They talk of such things, Governor,' said 
 Van Hattam, * but words do not take forts, or 
 slay men.' Stuyvesant did not notice Van Hat- 
 tarn's opinion, he went on declaring that he could
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 37 
 
 not understand why God made the English, unless 
 He sent them as Apollyon, to try the faith and 
 courage of other men ! ' Yet,' he cried out, 
 * Mynheer Anthony, and the best of our Dutch 
 families, are talking of feasting this lord and his 
 companions. God! If I am any judge, we shall 
 soon be buckling on our armour to fight them,* 
 and the passion in his voice, and hands, and eyes, 
 I can not show thee, Ragel." 
 
 " Well, then, I have seen Stuyvesant in a rage. 
 One does not forget that sight. What did An 
 thony say ? " 
 
 " There was no need for Anthony to speak. 
 Paul Lenaertse, looking Stuyvesant full in the 
 eyes, answered, ' We have had enough of talk 
 against the English. They are rich and respect 
 able. They pay their taxes without grumbling. 
 They always stand by the law and the government. 
 I intend to entertain Lord Mclvar. He is a 
 handsome, kindly youth, and a sort of cousin to 
 our general friend, Lady Moody. 5 ' 
 
 " And how did Stuyvesant take those words?" 
 
 " He cooled down like a fire of straw, and sat 
 sulkily silent until Lenaertse ceased speaking, then 
 he answered in the voice of an injured man: 'I 
 am obstructed and doubted on the right hand and 
 the left, but though all should turn up their noses 
 and the palms of their hands at my words, I will 
 say again, beware of the English; for be sure, if 
 we let them sit in our councils and feast in our
 
 38 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 homes, we are dragging the Trojan horse within 
 cur gates.' Nobody answered this remark, and 
 he stood up and said more pleasantly, ' Gentle 
 men, we will drink together a parting glass to the 
 city of New Amsterdam.' Then he looked at 
 Van Hattam, and Van Hattam said, * Peace and 
 Prosperity be within her borders ' ; and Stuyves- 
 ant answered : * If it be so written, so it will be.* 
 That was the end of the dinner and Van Derlyn 
 walked home with me, but to speak it plain, Ragel, 
 he is no friend of the Governor. He talked too 
 much about Lenaertse's rebuff." 
 
 " Well, then, everyone talks about the power 
 Paul Lenaertse has over Stuyvesant. They say 
 they were long together in the West Indies, and 
 that Stuyvesant called for him on his way to 
 New Amsterdam, and brought him here with him. 
 He has the finest house in the city, but he does no 
 business, and people do wonder and sigh and shake 
 their heads, and look all kinds of suspicious things. 
 Old Madame Van Laer said plainly one day, as she 
 took her long pinches of snuff : ' There will be 
 some counting of guilders between them. Every 
 wrong thing beds itself in guilders. Our 
 Governor is not badly off Lenaertse is rich 
 very well in some way it is guilders ! Guilders ! ' ; 
 And Ragel laughed a little, as she imitated the 
 snuffy interruptions. 
 
 Paul answered with decision : " Far wrong are 
 those that think guilders could stop Stuyvesant's
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 39 
 
 rages, or stay his tongue. Lenaertse has a more 
 powerful weapon than guilders. All men say 
 that." 
 
 "Well, then?" 
 
 " Say it should be a woman. There are beau 
 tiful quadroons in Curacoa." 
 
 "Paul! What art thou saying?" 
 
 " Keep what I have said secret and silent. 
 Madame Stuyvesant hath a great spirit and a high 
 temper. Stuyvesant, who fears not to change 
 words or blows with any man, would quail to look 
 her in the face, if she heard some love story from 
 Lenaertse. And back to Holland she would go 
 with her boys. I make no doubt of that. Then 
 the Company would be making inquiries, and then, 
 the Governor's life would be everyway ruined." 
 
 " It is your thought that he may have a qua 
 droon wife in Curacoa, and perhaps a family? 
 Paul Van Ruyven, I believe nothing of the kind. 
 It is well known Peter Stuyvesant frowns on all 
 immoralities, and a better husband and father does 
 not live. That is the truth. All women say it is 
 a matter of guilders." 
 
 " Yet " 
 
 "Yet what?" 
 
 " Stuyvesant has been young once, and most 
 men have their little romance hid away in the by 
 gone years. But if Lenaertse should begin to tell 
 anything of this kind, every man in New Ams 
 terdam would stand with Stuyvesant. w
 
 40 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " So, so ! That is right. The pot should 
 call the kettle black. No, indeed ! " 
 
 " Listen to me, Ragel. What I have said on 
 this subject, is a secret to thee only. If thou but 
 whisper it to one other woman, then in a week all 
 the women in New Amsterdam will be whispering 
 it to each other, and what would come of such 
 whispering the devil knows best." 
 
 " Thou may safely trust me, Paul. I will tell 
 thee one thing the Governor will have to enter 
 tain the English officers and the young lord. 
 
 " He will not." 
 
 " I say he will be compelled to do so. To-day 
 Agratha heard Madame Stuyvesant and Madame 
 Bayard arranging an entertainment for them. It 
 is to be a ball and supper in the Fort." 
 
 " Well now, if the women have decided on it, 
 what can Stuyvesant do? I am sorry for him, 
 he has to give up so often." 
 
 " Very good that is for him. We shall be cer 
 tainly asked; wilt thou go?" 
 
 " I see not how to help." 
 
 " We shall have to take Agratha with us. She 
 has set her heart on that." 
 
 "Well, then, why not?" 
 
 " She must have a new frock and a pair of danc 
 ing sandals. The Governor likes to watch her 
 dancing, and she will want thee to step a galliard 
 with her." 
 
 " Not out of my own house, I am too heavy."
 
 THE BALL 1 IN THE FORT 41 
 
 " I will go to Cornells Steenwyck's store in the 
 morning and get her a white dress." 
 
 " Wait until we are sure it will be wanted. I 
 say Stuyvesant will not have any entertainment 
 for the English." 
 
 " Madame Stuyvesant will ; then what can he 
 do?" 
 
 " He will retire he will not mate an appear 
 ance." 
 
 " Thou wilt see. And now it is late and we 
 will go to our good sleep. Very kind it is of the 
 Blessed One to break our lives into little portions 
 and give us a rest between them. I know not else 
 how we could bear the long years." 
 
 Paul sighed heavily, but it was a sigh of con 
 tent. No one enjoyed more fully the comfort of 
 sleep, no one respected its demands more readily, 
 or satisfied them with more pleasure. Madame 
 was of a more alert disposition, the restless mer 
 curial temperament of a French grandmother 
 had vivified the sluggish nature of her Dutch 
 ancestry a nature slow enough on ordi 
 nary occasions, though passionately prompt 
 and dauntless when the occasion was extraor 
 dinary. 
 
 The expected invitation came early on the fol 
 lowing day, and caused some excitement. 
 
 Agratha watched her mother's face anxiously, 
 as she read the note, and then asked: "Does 
 Madame say anything about me, moeder? "
 
 " She says the Governor will be disappointed 
 unless thou art present." 
 
 " My dress, moeder! When will you buy it? " 
 " This morning. Put on thy hood, and I will 
 take thee with me." 
 
 " The Domine will not like me to miss my les 
 sons." 
 
 " That I cannot help ! Thy sandals must be 
 fit to thy feet, and I want thee to have the dress 
 that pleases thee." 
 
 " The gauze with the silver stars ? " 
 " Well, then, if there be any of it left. We will 
 go to Herr Steenwyck's and see what can be 
 found. Madame Beekman told me that he had a 
 wonderful stock of the latest patterns in silk 
 crapes, and gauzes, coloured and white, satins, 
 gloves, ribbons and everything beautiful." 
 
 " I like Herr Steenwyck, moeder. Everyone 
 likes him, and he is so handsome and dresses him 
 self so finely, also he is very polite." 
 
 " Well, then, he came from Haerlem, where they 
 have manners as fine as at the Hague." 
 
 " Last week I was in his store, and Elsie Van 
 Dam came in, and she was so badly dressed, I did 
 not notice her, but Herr Steenwyck was very 
 polite to her." 
 
 " Elsie Van Dam is a beautiful girl." 
 
 " Oh ! He was very polite to me also." 
 
 " That was because thy fader is a rich man." 
 
 " Elsie's moeder is poor. Herr Steenwyck
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 43 
 
 showed her some cloth, and she said she could not 
 afford to buy such fine goods. I thought it was 
 improper to tell people in a store, that she was 
 poor. I was ashamed for Elsie." 
 
 " To be ashamed was foolishness. When people 
 are poor, they may say so. Poor people are 
 necessary to society. Come now, put on thy hood ; 
 we are wasting time." 
 
 So the dress was bought, and the lessons ex 
 cused, and Agratha went with her mother to the 
 dressmaker's, and freely expressed her wishes 
 about the fashioning of it. " I will have no ruffles, 
 either pleated or gathered," she said, " and no 
 overdress a plain, straight skirt with my broad 
 white sash, will be the prettiest style, and just so 
 long as my ankles, moeder, then my silk stockings 
 and white shoes will show themselves." And she 
 had such a charming, commanding way of express 
 ing her desires, that they were readily granted. 
 
 On the following Saturday, trumpeters went 
 through the streets proclaiming the religious 
 ceremonies whose omission had so offended the 
 Governor. There was much excitement, and a 
 little extra preparation in every family for the 
 event. From some unknown source a report had 
 sprung that the new city was to be named 
 Stuyvesant; and though this supposition was 
 contradicted by the very formula of the grant of 
 citizenship, many did not know this, and many who 
 did know it, considered Stuyvesant quite capable
 
 44 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 of changing any name for his own. So there was 
 a good deal of feeling and much curiosity about 
 the Kirk service, and long before the appointed 
 hour the streets were full of a leisurely crowd, on 
 the look-out for anything unusual. 
 
 Fortunately it was a particularly bright and 
 cheerful day. The sky was blue and cloudless, 
 the sun shone bravely over the crow-stepped 
 gables, and roofs of many coloured tiles ; while 
 the silver-toned Porto-Rico bells rang out joy 
 ously, as the new City Fathers in their official robes 
 proceeded in solemn and stately order to the Kirk 
 in the Fort. A remarkable figure walked a little 
 in advance. It was Peter Stuyvesant, in a coat 
 of dark blue velvet, profusely decorated with gold 
 buttons and gold lace. The long skirts were 
 turned up at the corners to show the white satin, 
 lining, and parted behind to show the canary 
 coloured breeches ; and on his head was a hat of 
 soft beaver, with a thick silk cord round it. The 
 Beggars of the Sea had worn such a hat, and their 
 descendant still affected it. In one hand he held 
 his sword, in the other his gold headed cane, and 
 his wood and silver leg always appeared to be 
 boldly in advance. 
 
 But it was the soul of Peter Stuyvesant that 
 gave some extraordinary quality to his appear 
 ance, for no other man, though dressed exactly 
 like him, could have so completely dominated his 
 surroundings. Even those opposed to him polit-
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 45 
 
 ically, were proud of him in many other ways, 
 and the wood and silver leg, which would have been 
 an impediment to most men, was to Stuyvesant a 
 distinction, a kind of royal order, signifying his 
 patriotism and his bravery. 
 
 Their march through the city to the Fort was 
 attended by a respectful and interested crowd ; for 
 it was a ceremony in which all felt themselves to 
 have a share. As they reached the Kirk, Madame 
 Stuyvesant and Madame Bayard entered it; but 
 Stuyvesant who was the soul of courtesy to his 
 lovely wife did not notice her; he wished every 
 one to understand that at this hour he was en 
 tirely devoted to the city and its interests. His 
 neglect, however, was not shared by the congrega 
 tion ; every eye was for a moment turned upon the 
 beautiful woman, costumed in violet cloth, bor 
 dered with minever, her hood and muff of the same 
 fur, lined and trimmed with violet satin. She 
 was the visible part of the government to 
 which all rendered a willing admiration and obe 
 dience. 
 
 As the little stir of seating the congregation^ 
 ceased, Domine Megapolensis entered by the chan 
 cel. He stood at the foot of the pulpit stairs, 
 and placing his hat before his face prayed silently 
 for a few minutes, the congregation bowing their 
 heads as he did so. That morning he preached 
 especially to the new City Fathers, and if they 
 were not impressed by the importance of their
 
 46 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 position and their duties, it was not the fault of 
 Domine Megapoiensis. Indeed his admonitions 
 were continued until the sand in the hour glass 
 was fully run out; and the clerk thought it neces 
 sary to rap thrice upon his desk in order to re 
 mind the preacher that he had spoken long 
 enough. Then the deacons collected the benefac 
 tions for the poor, the little bells on their black 
 silk bags making a not unpleasant tinkling 
 through the building. It was the first intrusion 
 of mortal life into the still sacredness of the scene; 
 for after it, there was but a verse of song and a 
 short benediction, and the congregation were at 
 liberty to hasten home to their chicken pot-pies or 
 roast spareribs or whatever other delicacy rep 
 resented their Sabbath dinner. 
 
 To Agratha the whole scene had been a little 
 drama. No part of it had wearied her, for her 
 vivid imagination had turned personalities and in 
 cidents into whatever she could wish them to be. 
 Yet she was a little disappointed when the Eng 
 lish officers and Lord Mclvar did not appear ; but 
 this disappointment had been a general one. 
 Even Stuyvesant commented upon their absence: 
 
 " Those English, whom I have allowed to an 
 chor off Nutten Island, ought to have been at 
 the Kirk this morning. I do not like men who 
 neglect divine service," he said with scornful an 
 ger. " They have had a hospitable welcome, and 
 they ought to have been courteous to our Sab-
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 47 
 
 bath ; but they are a proud, insolent lot, and would 
 not be civil to anyone's God but their own." 
 
 " Thou art too hard, Peter. Captain Scho- 
 field sent me a pretty little singing bird in a gilt 
 cage, that he got in the Canary Islands. I have 
 called it * Peter,' and often I have heard that on 
 English men-of-war there is divine service every 
 Sabbath." 
 
 " Service on board a man-of-war ! Is that a 
 reasonable, or respectable place for worship, Ju 
 dith? In my judgment it is not." 
 
 " Service in a Fort, with cannon and fighting 
 men around, is that a more reasonable or re 
 spectable place, Peter? In my judgment it is 
 not." 
 
 " We have the true faith, Judith, that mates 
 the difference. Holland is Holland, because she 
 has the true faith. The English are Lutherans," 
 and these last four words he uttered with a scorn 
 ful intolerance no one but Stuyvesant could trans 
 late into language. 
 
 " I have read the English creed." 
 
 " So have I, and I have compared it with our 
 grand Belgic Confession of Faith, which I learned 
 joyfully when it was revised in 1619. I was a 
 young man then, a soldier under arms, but I could 
 feel its beauty and I vowed my soul and body to 
 all it required." 
 
 " I learned it at my dear mother's knees, Peter, 
 and I have rested my whole life on the deep, sweet
 
 48 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 harmony it sounded almost at its beginning 
 * God, the overflowing fountain of good.' " Large 
 tears of loving memory filled her soft, dark eyes. 
 Stuyvesant looked at her, and quieted himself like 
 a little child. 
 
 Yet his complaint of their English visitors was 
 a general one. Most of the congregation had ex 
 pected to see the Governor's pew brightened by 
 brilliant uniforms, and perhaps also by the pres 
 ence of Lord Mclvar in Court dress, or in the 
 picturesque kilt and philabeg of his native land. 
 The familiar City Fathers in their black silk gowns 
 might be official, but they were not picturesque, 
 or even interesting. Many supercilious remarks 
 were made about Captain Schofield, and Joost 
 Van Dorn was considered very clever because he 
 asked : " What else but ill-nature and bad man 
 ners could be expected from a man who called his 
 ship ' The Wasp? ' " 
 
 On Monday afternoon, however, Captain Scho 
 field reversed all adverse opinions. He appeared 
 on the Collect Pond with three of his officers and 
 in a few minutes had taken little Elsie Everson 
 by her hand and was gliding swiftly with her over 
 its frozen water. Then the handsome, popular 
 secretary of the province, Jacob Kip, began to 
 make introductions, and the pretty pond quickly 
 became a scene of happy and innocent gaiety. But 
 the Scotch lord came not, and finally Maria La 
 Montague, the lovely fiancee of Secretary Kip,
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 49 
 
 asked the Captain why Lord Mclvar had not 
 joined his party? 
 
 " He cannot skate," was the answer. " His 
 mother would never allow him to go upon the ice, 
 for on the Scotch locks it is often thin and dan 
 gerous, and Mclvar is her only child." 
 
 These facts were rapidly circulated, and Cap 
 tain Schofield soon had the pleasure of hearing the 
 opinions of a group of little girls concerning them. 
 Elsie Everson stood in their midst, and in a voice 
 of childish pity and astonishment said : 
 
 " He cannot skatel " 
 
 " What an ignorant man ! " replied Jelissa Van 
 Pelt. " He cannot skate ! " 
 
 " His moeder would not let him go on the ice," 
 continued Elsie. 
 
 " What a strange moeder ! " from a number of 
 voices in chorus. 
 
 " She was afraid." 
 
 " For what was she afraid ? " asked Jelissa 
 scornfully. 
 
 " That he might be drowned." 
 
 " Ja! Poor Lord Mclvar ! " 
 
 " But, Jelissa," answered Elsie, " he is her only 
 child." 
 
 " Only one child has she? Poor moeder ! Come, 
 we lose the time," and away they flew all together, 
 the wind behind and the sunshine over them ; their 
 merry laughter mingling with their simple con 
 dolences for the ignorant young lord.
 
 50 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 This little incident opened the way for a week 
 of generous hospitality, beginning with a dance 
 and supper at the Fort. The invitations for this 
 entertainment were necessarily few in number ; not 
 so much from social distinctions, though social 
 distinctions were strictly observed in New Am 
 sterdam ; but chiefly because the Governor's house 
 in the Fort had not been built with reference to 
 young men and maidens meeting there for the pur 
 pose of dancing. There was, however, one large 
 public room, and Madame Stuyvesant, by opening 
 the living rooms into it, managed to find comfort 
 able space for about twenty of the most distin 
 guished citizens of New Amsterdam, and a very 
 merry company of their handsome sons and 
 daughters. The Beekmans came early, hoping to 
 be of some assistance to Madame Stuyvesant ; but 
 they were quickly followed by the Van Cortlandts, 
 Creigers, La Montagues, Anthonys, Van Ruyvens 
 and others. 
 
 The Fort itself was but a shabby place, but this 
 night the Governor's rooms, plentifully dressed 
 with hemlock branches and lit by many candles 
 and blazing fires, had a gay and comfortable ap 
 pearance ; while the show of silver, crystal, and of 
 costly clothing and jewels was almost an incred 
 ible one, considering the wilderness behind the little 
 city and the great ocean before it. But not in 
 credible, if we remember that a great number of 
 the early colonists of New Amsterdam were from
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 51 
 
 Dutch families who had long been accustomed to 
 the luxuries and refinements of a highly civilised 
 life ; and that they did not relinquish these things, 
 because they had emigrated to a new country. 
 On the contrary, they regarded them as the insig 
 nia of their long family wealth and respectability. 
 
 The Van Ruyvens had always been remarkable 
 for the splendour of their clothing and household 
 furnishings, and also for the beauty and value of 
 Madame Van Ruyven's jewels and pearl orna 
 ments. She said they were very old, and that the 
 pearls had been in her family for two hundred 
 years ; but, even so, they still represented a con 
 siderable amount in current guilders, while the 
 gold lace, velvet and satin of their attire was a 
 wonderful exhibition of the value of such cloth 
 ing in augmenting the dignity and beauty of the 
 human form. 
 
 It was on this occasion that Agratha took her 
 first step into the fashionable world, but she had 
 the serene, simple aplomb of a child who has al 
 ways been of the first consideration in her own 
 little world, and never dreamed of any condition 
 where she would be of less importance. As soon 
 as she entered the lighted, crowded rooms, a great 
 elation inspired her; the hum of voices, and the 
 distant sounds of the violins blending with them 
 thrilled her young heart. She threw upward her 
 head, her feet hardly touched the floor, she for 
 got she was Agratha Van Ruyven. Some finer
 
 52 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 essence stirred within her, some spiritual force 
 that made her eyes shine like stars and her face 
 become almost translucent. She was perfectly 
 happy, and she stepped as lightly at her father's 
 side as if she were already in some blessed world 
 beyond the reach of sin and sorrow. For a mo 
 ment everyone ceased talking, and gazed at her; 
 and Stuyvesant, who was standing amid a group 
 of which the English officers made a noticeable 
 part, came to meet her. It was an unusual honour, 
 and Paul Van Ruyven bowed proudly as they met. 
 
 For a few moments they spoke of the weather 
 and the company, then the Governor, taking 
 Agratha's hand said, " Come now, Little One, I 
 want to make you know some of the people who 
 are here to-night." Agratha stepped to his side 
 with a smile, and leaving her father and mother 
 went away with her guardian. Van Ruyven could 
 not hide his annoyance. 
 
 " See how he presumes ! " he said in a low, angry 
 voice, " he forgets too much lately, that I am 
 Agratha's fader." 
 
 " This night he is her host," replied Madame 
 Van Ruyven, " and it will be prudent and civil in 
 thee to remember that." 
 
 " He is taking her straight to those English 
 officers Sacrament! " 
 
 " Keep thy words and thy oaths until thou art 
 in thy own house," whispered Madame. " I will 
 not listen to them here. Go and talk to Martin
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 53 
 
 Creiger about something, anything, hang not 
 around me. I am going to Mrs. Anthony," and 
 with these words Madame Van Ruyven rose, and 
 her husband following her advice, sat down by 
 burgomaster Creiger and said: 
 
 " If we were not at a dance, but in thy office, 
 Creiger, what would be thy price for the sixty 
 beaver skins thou received from Van Hattam yes- 
 terday? " 
 
 So while Martin Creiger and Paul Van Ruyven 
 discussed the price of beaver skins, Peter Stuy- 
 vesant walked slowly through the crowded room 
 with Agratha's little hand upon his arm. She was 
 in a dream of pleasure, but she knew what was 
 going to happen, knew that her name was blending 
 itself with Lord Mclvar's, and heard it as music 
 far, far away but sweetly personal and familiar. 
 And just as the introduction was in progress, 
 Stuyvesant was hurriedly wanted, and Mclvar 
 took her hand and led her to a seat. 
 
 " I am most fortunate to have heard your 
 name," he said, " though indeed I have known you 
 ever since I saw you enter the room." 
 
 " But how? Where? " She lifted her face, and 
 the glancing of her eyes was caught and tangled 
 in the steady gaze of passionate admiration with 
 which he regarded her. She was fascinated, held 
 as by a charm, there was even in her heart a slight 
 desire to cry out, as if the excess of her pleasure 
 was painful. It was only a momentary enchant-
 
 54 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 ment, but very real while it lasted, for it came 
 from a far more vital source than mere flesh and 
 blood. It was, in fact, a veritable betrothal, 
 though neither was conscious of it. Physically, 
 Governor Stuyvesant had introduced them, but 
 what power or influence had in that one co-min 
 gling glance, re-incarnated the old Love, with all 
 its faults and failures forgotten, and all its sweet 
 ness and tenderness renewed? 
 
 As he did not answer her question, she asked 
 again : " How did you know me ? Where did you 
 meet me? " 
 
 " I knew you by your bright eyes and shining 
 hair, and by many a token I cannot name. I 
 knew you, and that is all about it, but where I 
 met you before, in faith I cannot tell. Agratha! 
 Agratha Van Ruyven," he said musingly. " You 
 must remember." 
 
 Then she looked with frank eyes into the eager, 
 almost boyish face regarding her. It was a hand 
 some face, full of the verve and passion of youth, 
 and again she was aware of that strange thrill of 
 unknown poignant pleasure, so curiously akin to 
 pain and tears. 
 
 But she could find no words to answer the ques 
 tion asked, and was relieved to see a remarkably 
 stately woman approaching. She was smiling, 
 but a little shake of her head appeared to nega 
 tive their companionship. Mclvar looked at her, 
 and laughed softly.
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 55 
 
 " It is my cousin Moody," he said : " she has 
 come to separate us, I dare say." 
 
 " She is my friend," said Agratha with enthusi 
 asm. " I often stay with her. I love Lady 
 Moody. Everyone loves her." 
 
 " She is a Dear Delight, no doubt, but I could 
 wish her a half a mile away at present." 
 
 But Lady Moody came forward slowly, stop 
 ping continually to speak to old and young as she 
 passed them ; her large, fair countenance sweet 
 and serene ; and her head held high with more than 
 a courtier's dignity. She was very tall, very erect, 
 and very handsome, though possibly sixty years 
 of age. Her peculiar dress somewhat accentuated 
 these advantages peculiar, because its long, plain 
 skirt of black brocade was in absolute contradic 
 tion to the be-frilled and be-ruffled skirts and 
 underskirts on all sides of her; and she wore no 
 ornaments, unless the long stomacher and high 
 cuffs of finest Honiton, and a barb of the same 
 lace across her black hair, be considered such. 
 Others might be splendid or gay or picturesque, 
 but Lady Moody was distinguished, and even regal 
 looking. For she had been used to Courts, and 
 though intensely democratic, was not opposed 
 to paying Caesar whatever was Caesar's due 
 in the way of social customs and polite cere 
 monies. 
 
 Smiling at Mclvar, she took Agratha by the 
 hand. " You little Beauty ! " she said admiringly,
 
 56 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " so you have put off your bib and apron, and got 
 into a dancing frock. How do you like it? " 
 
 " Indeed, Lady Moody, I have not danced yet." 
 
 " But now they are calling the dance. Do you 
 not hear the fiddles ? How can you sit still? Run 
 to your mother, and she will get you a partner." 
 
 " Miss Van Ruyven will dance with me, cousin. 
 I have bespoken her company." 
 
 " Grant me patience ! You are expected to 
 dance with every marriageable woman in the room, 
 and you must begin with Miss Anthony, or you 
 will be out of fashion and favour." 
 
 " That is not a tolerable sentence, cousin. And 
 I have only just met Miss Van Ruyven." 
 
 " Quite half an hour ago. It grieves me to 
 part you so soon, but I have a remedy, and I will 
 make it a bargain, if so you wish." 
 
 " Terms must be good. I am not to be bought 
 for nothing." 
 
 " Listen ! Captain Schofield is going to bring 
 The Wasp to Gravesend in a few days." 
 
 "Why? Are not the West India Company's 
 ship builders the best in the country? The Gov 
 ernor told us so." 
 
 " The Company's ship builders have made The 
 Wasp seaworthy. It is not for repairs she will 
 come to Gravesend." 
 
 " We will not talk of The Wasp. It is no great 
 entertainment." 
 
 " She goes to Gravesend to victual. All the
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 57 
 
 best farms are on Long Island, and she can get her 
 cabbage and pork easier and cheaper at Gravesend 
 than at New York. I am going to ask Miss Van 
 Ruyven to go back to Gravesend with me, in order 
 to help Captain Schofield and others, pass pleas 
 antly the few days of their detention." 
 
 "Dearest cousin, I shall vastly enjoy a visit to 
 your home, indeed I may say I have longed for 
 it. You will certainly ask me as well as Captain 
 Schofield?" 
 
 " Captain Schofield is dancing this very min 
 ute with Miss Elizabeth Anthony, and you are not 
 even on your legs. Go, and do some steps this 
 evening with every pretty girl on the floor, and 
 Miss Van Ruyven shall pay my debt at Gravesend 
 for the obligation : " then turning to Agratha, she 
 asked, " Will you not do so, my dear? " 
 
 " Very great pleasure that would give me, Lady 
 Moody, if my fader and moeder consent." 
 
 " I will ask so much from their favour." 
 
 " And I kiss your hand, my dear cousin, for 
 your miraculous kindness," said Mclvar. 
 
 " Then our bargain is made. Come, Agratha ! 
 Your mother desires your company, and as for 
 you, Mclvar, follow me, and I will take you to the 
 loveliest girl in the room." 
 
 " Alas, no, you take me from her ! " 
 
 Then Agratha turned away, and Mclvar 
 watched her until she was seated at her mother's 
 side. "Isn't she a darling? Isn't she a darling? "
 
 58 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 he exclaimed. " In faith, cousin, you are hard 
 on me." 
 
 " I must protect a child like Agratha from you. 
 Her mother entreated me to do so. Your marked 
 attention was being adversely noticed, and to 
 morrow the Dear One would have been torn to 
 pieces by envious and jealous women. See! She 
 is already dancing with Carel Van Dorn, and I 
 will introduce you to Maria La Montague. She 
 is French, and takes all the new steps perfectly." 
 
 Agratha had said she only wished to " look on " 
 but a beautiful girl of fifteen years is a de 
 lightful partner, " where feet fly fast, and hearts 
 are light." And she had her place in every dance, 
 even in the minuet which she performed with Carel 
 Van Dorn to the delight of everyone present. 
 Never before had her father been so proud of her, 
 never before had he so fully realised what a treas 
 ure of lovely life was committed to his care. He 
 watched her jealously, was hot and angry when 
 she was dancing with Lord Mclvar, or any of the 
 young men from the English quarter, and was 
 proud and pleased when she stepped out with Carel 
 Van Dorn, or Jacob Kip, or any of the young 
 Dutch beaus present. 
 
 So between dancing and eating, the hours slipped 
 quickly away, and all were amazed when it was 
 two o'clock in the morning, and the last Country 
 Dance was called. Agratha had Mclvar for her 
 partner, and she felt that the climax of the en-
 
 THE BALL IN THE FORT 59 
 
 tertainment had been reached. Nothing more de 
 lightful could happen to her, and she was strangely 
 satisfied and silent. Usually she was ready to 
 talk, to describe, even to criticise, but about this 
 fateful entertainment she had nothing to say; her 
 heart was too full for words, and she slipped 
 quietly away to her room without expressing an 
 opinion. 
 
 Van Ruyven was amazed, but her mother said: 
 " The child is too weary to talk. We shall have 
 enough said in the morning. Take thy smoke and 
 then we also will go to our good sleep, for I can 
 tell thee I am weary and have not a word to say 
 this night I mean this morning for it is anigh 
 to three o'clock. Think of that." 
 
 So Paul removed his fine velvet coat, and draw 
 ing his chair opposite the fire, lit his pipe and 
 smoked placidly, while Ragel put away her pearls 
 and lace, and splendidly embroidered petticoats. 
 Paul was not sleepy, he had talked a great deal 
 at the Governor's table, and he felt that he would 
 like to repeat the conversation to his wife. He 
 was sure that she would enjoy it, so he said: 
 
 " Sit down beside me, Ragel, for one-half hour. 
 I must have my smoke, and it is no good for me, 
 if thou keep moving about on thy tip-toes." 
 
 " Well, look now, Paul, this is the very hour of 
 my morning sleep, and I will not cheat myself 
 of it." 
 
 " But I cannot sleep, Ragel."
 
 60 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " That is nonsense. What is there to keep thee 
 awake? Put on thy nightcap, shut thy eyes, and 
 lay thy head on the pillow, and if thou art not 
 asleep in one minute, then I will wonder, I will 
 fear, I will call up the house, I will send for the 
 Doctor. But there! Sleep comes to thee as eas 
 ily as breathing." 
 
 "In my judgment, that is the right way, 
 Ragel." 
 
 " Well, then, see thou take the right way, and 
 that very soon. Good-night to thee, Paul ! "
 
 CHAPTER THREE 
 
 AGEATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH 
 
 IN the morning Paul was late to breakfast, and 
 so hurried at dinner time, that Ragel quoted point 
 edly : " ' Late to breakfast, hurried at dinner, and 
 cross at supper.' That is the old proverb, Paul, 
 but I advise thee not to be cross at supper. I 
 am likely to be cross myself before night," she 
 said, " and if two in the house be in that temper, 
 no doubt there will be trouble and quarrelling." 
 
 " When I got to business this morning," re 
 torted Paul, " it was ten o'clock and nothing done 
 that should have been done every moeder's son 
 of the lazy fellows, talking about the dance last 
 night." 
 
 " That was natural, Paul." 
 
 " In business hours, it was dishonest, imperti 
 nent trifling. Well, then, I have kept them on the 
 quickstep dance ever since, and to-night they will 
 stay two hours over time. Yes, indeed, they will ! " 
 
 " The poor young men ! Thou hast taken all 
 the pleasure out of their good time. Once thou 
 wert young, Paul." 
 
 " I was always honest and diligent in my bus- 
 
 61
 
 62 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 iness. That is one of my principles. Listen, 
 Ragel! I will not go to any more midnight non 
 sense. I have a headache. I am sleepy, and the 
 day's business is at sixes and sevens." 
 
 " Come home early, and make up thy sleep." 
 
 " And let everything in the store go to the mis 
 chief. That is like a woman. I may be two hours 
 later than is my custom." 
 
 " I should think thou would, if thou art not, 
 keeping thy clerks two hours later will be of little 
 use." 
 
 "If thou hast a pudding, let it be brought 
 quickly. I cannot spend the best hour in the day 
 talking." 
 
 " There is no pudding." 
 
 " That is what I expected." 
 
 *'Then I am glad thou art not disappointed." 
 
 " I am going. Things seem to be as much out 
 of kilter here, as they are at the store." 
 
 " Of course they are. I am glad thou had the 
 good sense to expect it." 
 
 Paul looked at his wife angrily, but Ragel, with 
 a face of smiling good .humour, was carefully cut 
 ting herself a choice slice of roast mutton, so she 
 did not notice his displeasure. 
 
 " I am going," he said again, pushing backward 
 his chair with unnecessary noise and haste. 
 
 " No one hinders thy going," answered Ragel, 
 " but I advise thee to come home early, and finish 
 thy sleep. Also, there is a storm brewing, and
 
 in thy present temper, it would be easy for thee 
 to take cold." 
 
 He shut the door emphatically to this remark, 
 and Ragel laid down her knife and fork and 
 watched him stamping down the flagged garden 
 walk. " Men are cross, queer creatures," she 
 thought, yet the thought passed away in a smile, 
 for she knew that Paul's temper was easily in her 
 management, one way or another, " but he will 
 come home early, and finish his sleep." She gave 
 the last sentence audible speech, and felt so cer 
 tified by the sound of the words, that she bade 
 Gus make a good fire, and put his master's house 
 blouse and slippers before it. 
 
 Two hours earlier than usual Paul came home 
 and went straight to his bedroom. Madame Van 
 Ruyven and Agratha were sitting sewing and talk 
 ing in the room beneath, and they heard him kick 
 off his shoes with a noise calculated to inform 
 them of his obedience to the advice given him. 
 Then Madame smiled, she understood all his little 
 ways of attracting attention, and she nodded at 
 Agratha sympathetically, and went upstairs to 
 him. 
 
 " So glad am I to see thee, Paul," she said, " in 
 deed I was wishing thou would come. Now I will 
 darken the room, and sleep, Dear One, sleep all 
 that is needful to thee. A wise man, as thou art, 
 always pays the debt he owes to himself, before 
 all other debts. Thou hast done right."
 
 64 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Well, Ragel, I generally do right, that is one 
 of the things I am particular about." 
 
 " Everyone knows that, Paul." 
 
 Then she left him to the soothing and healing 
 influences of darkness and sleep, and returning to 
 her daughter continued their discussion about the 
 social events of the hour the parties likely to be 
 given, and the guests that would be prominent in 
 each particular set. 
 
 When Paul awoke it was quite dark, and he 
 knew from a certain warm delicious odour, and 
 still more definitely from the sound of silver and 
 glass in contact, that it was supper time. He rose 
 hastily and at the top of the stairs saw Agratha 
 with a candle in her hand waiting for him. It 
 made him happy. He took the candle from her 
 and clasped her hand in his, and so she led him 
 to his chair on the hearth, shook over again its 
 cushions, gave him his comfortable blouse, put on 
 his slippers, and then took a kiss for her service. 
 It was all delightful, and when Ragel and the sup 
 per entered, a great content filled the large bright 
 room, and the unhappy dinner was quite for 
 gotten. 
 
 They talked during it of Agratha's lessons, and 
 Paul was proud to be able to explain to his child 
 some of those classical allusions so common in the 
 writings of that period. For Paul was a Univer 
 sity graduate, and never spoke of Mother Leyden 
 without raising his hat or hand in salutation to
 
 AGRATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH 65 
 
 her. It was natural enough then, that he should 
 tell Agratha about the Governor's reference to 
 the Trojan horse, and the blank or puzzled looks 
 with which it was received. 
 
 " I am even sure, Ragel," he continued, " that 
 I alone understood him, and what Allard Anthony 
 and the rest thought, I know not. No one pres 
 ent ever named the Trojan horse to me except 
 Peter Van Couwenhoven; he asked when I next 
 met him if I had ever seen a Trojan horse, and 
 surmised they must be ugly ill-tempered brutes to 
 need dragging into any place." 
 
 Madame said she did not blame Couwen 
 hoven, nor anybody else for not understanding, or 
 believing such an improbable story. And she 
 would like to know what the Trojans and the 
 Greeks had to do with New Amsterdam, and its 
 government? She thought that if the Governor 
 had to set off his speeches with old sayings and old 
 stories, he might find some nearer home in good 
 plain Dutch. " Why," she continued, " Van Hat- 
 tarn, whom he has made one of our burgomasters, 
 lives mostly among the Indians, and I dare say 
 never heard of a war with the Trojans; indeed, I 
 wonder he did not ask the Governor if the Trojan 
 tribe were allied to the Mohawks ? " 
 
 " Well, then, I can tell you, Ragel, that our best 
 and most respectable men are very much impressed 
 by his Latin quotations, and they and his class 
 ical stories will silence a quarrelsome meeting
 
 66 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 when common sense and good Dutch would have no 
 effect. Old Vanderhoff once went to Domine 
 Megapolensis and repeated as well as he could 
 some Latin phrase used by Governor Stuyvesant. 
 ' He threw it in our faces as if it was powder and 
 shot,' he said, ' and I would like, Domine, to know 
 what it meant.' ' 
 
 "Did he tell him, Paul? " 
 
 " The Domine spoke the phrase correctly, and 
 being assured it was the Governor's quotation an 
 swered: ' I am sorry that, you have asked me, Mr. 
 Vanderhoff, and I have little inclination to tell 
 you its meaning.' However, being strongly urged, 
 he said : * If you will have it, then it means in plain 
 Dutch, that you are a lot of jabbering idiots and 
 jackasses, and not even honest ones.' Vanderhoff 
 has never spoken to Stuyvesant since." 
 
 " Governor Stuyvesant will not care if Mr. Van 
 derhoff does not speak to him," said Agratha. 
 
 " The flying of a crow overhead would have as 
 much effect on him," added Madame. 
 
 In such pleasant, intimate conversation the 
 evening passed ; and in the morning Agratha began 
 eagerly to watch for an invitation to some of the 
 festivities she had heard were certain. But none 
 came to her, except from the Stillwells, and as 
 Lady Moody was staying with them, she knew 
 whom to thank for it. Every afternoon or even 
 ing, there was some kind of pleasuring on hand, 
 and she could hardly keep back tears when a pro-
 
 AGRATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH 67 
 
 cession of sleighs filled with merrymakers passed. 
 She knew that they were going to a famous road- 
 house three miles distant, and were to have an 
 cyster supper, and an informal dance after it. 
 It was the Anthonys' courtesy to the English vis 
 itors, and she thought the^ might have asked her 
 to join them. 
 
 " They were all young people, moeder," she said 
 with a sob in her voice, " and I should have been 
 so happy with them." 
 
 " Thou art too young yet, Agratha. Except 
 from the Governor and Lady Moody thou cannot 
 expect social invitations for some years yet." 
 
 " Years ! Oh, moeder ! " 
 
 It was however a fact, that Agratha's presence 
 in the young people's set had not been kindly re 
 ceived. The marriageable girls felt it to be an 
 unfair intrusion of youth and beauty, fresher than 
 their own, and Elizabeth Anthony said plainly: 
 
 " The little minx had no business among us. 
 She is too attractive, and she knew well enough 
 how to coquet with the most desirable young men 
 present. I shall not notice her in any future so 
 cial gathering." 
 
 " It is her mother's fault," replied Mrs. An 
 thony. " She thinks her daughter a very lamp of 
 beauty, and is sure we all wish to gaze on her. 
 The child already is not permitted to keep any 
 company, unless they belong to the top of the 
 tree. But then! "
 
 68 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 "This is the truth, mother," continued Miss 
 Anthony ; " girls of twenty- two, or so on, had no 
 chance of favour when this dressed-up school girl 
 was around. And will you believe it, her fine dress 
 just like mine was made in a babyish kind of 
 fashion. If she had any corsets on, they must 
 have been short and soft, and I do not think such 
 dressing on a girl of fifteen moral and respectable." 
 
 " I shall tell you how matters stand, Elizabeth," 
 said Mrs. Anthony, " if you and the other girls of 
 twenty-two and so on, refuse to countenance her, 
 she will not be invited out. A child like Agratha 
 Van Ruyven is absurd in a ballroom. As for her 
 great beauty, Madame Van Ruyven should con 
 sider that blossoms are not fruits. Agratha is 
 pretty enough now, but what she will be five or 
 ten years after this time, who can tell ? " 
 
 These opinions regarding Agratha's presence at 
 the Fort ball were very general, and the Anthonys 
 had sufficient influence to enforce the child's se 
 clusion. She felt it keenly, and Madame made 
 polite excuses for refusing all the future festivi 
 ties of that period. She was indignant at the 
 slight shown to her daughter, and disposed to tell 
 everyone that Agratha had only been present at 
 the dance in the Fort in obedience to a special 
 request from the Governor and Madame Stuy- 
 vesant. 
 
 In consequence of these little annoyances, Lady 
 Moody's invitation was an acceptable triumph.
 
 AGRATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH 69 
 
 After all, Agratha was going to have the best of 
 it. Instantly Madame began the few changes 
 proper for the visit. A simple evening dress 
 made over the same corsets Miss Anthony thought 
 so reprehensible, her cloth pelisse more hand 
 somely trimmed, and her little fur hood re-lined 
 with new scarlet satin, were not obvious prepara 
 tions, and Van Ruyven was not aware of his 
 daughter's intended trip to Gravesend, until the 
 evening before it was to begin. Then on coming 
 home he noticed Agratha's trunk downstairs, and 
 he surmised its purpose at once. Her mother 
 frankly admitted she had promised Lady Moody to 
 let her have Agratha for a week, and Van Ruy 
 ven said: 
 
 " I am not pleased at that, Ragel. She will miss 
 her lessons, and she does that too often." 
 
 But he was not only inordinately fond of 
 Agratha, he was also proud and touchy about 
 everything concerning her; and when Madame 
 feelingly related the small slights and neglects she 
 had recently been compelled to accept from older 
 girls jealous of her beauty, he was quite ready to 
 give the child any compensating pleasure within 
 his power. 
 
 " Let her go with Lady Moody for a week," he 
 said, " but only for a week, no longer." 
 
 However, he did not know at this hour that? 
 Lady Moody was going home on The Wasp, and: 
 Madame did not think it well to tell him. " There
 
 is a time for everything," she thought, " and the 
 proper time to tell Paul will come." 
 
 So Agratha went quietly away in the morning. 
 Gus carried her trunk to the Stillwells', and Lady 
 Moody's own sloop took them to Nutting Island, 
 where The Wasp lay at anchor. There was a little 
 anxious fear at the mother's heart, for she had to 
 trust her darling to events, and be left in igno 
 rance of those events for an uncertain time. For 
 there were no telephones or telegraphs or even 
 regular mail service in those days, and Madame 
 Van Ruyven knew that she might have to wait for 
 any information until Agratha brought home her 
 own news. 
 
 This is what she told herself as she went with 
 less spirit than usual about her house duties. But 
 in the afternoon she was delighted to see Blandina 
 Wolfert open the garden gate. If anything un 
 usual had happened, Blandina would know it, and 
 Madame gave her a warm welcome, remarking as 
 ghe did so: 
 
 " You are very smartly dressed, Blandina. 
 Have you been at a wedding? " 
 
 " I have been with the rest of the crowd to see the 
 English war ship sail. There may be a wedding 
 hid away in her. Nobody knows what a shipfull 
 of Englishmen may hide or carry. Where is 
 Agratha? " 
 
 " I think you know where she is, Blandina." 
 , " I was wondering if you knew."
 
 AGRATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH 71' 
 
 " I know that she has gone to spend a week at 
 Gravesend with Lady Moody. Why did you go 
 to see The Wasp sail? " 
 
 " I went because the whole English set were go 
 ing. A crowd went down to the Island this morn 
 ing, and I thought I might as well see what they 
 were up to ; and as I stood watching and listening 
 for it is my way to notice everything I saw 
 Lady Moody's sloop coming. And I noticed that 
 after Lady Moody and Agratha landed, the sloop 
 went straight up the river again, with Mr. Hub- 
 bard at the wheel." 
 
 " Were you on board The Wasp? " 
 
 " Good gracious, Madame ! she was guarded as 
 if she was an enemy's country. No one was al 
 lowed to board her, but we noticed that the gang 
 way was down and covered with scarlet carpet. 
 So we all expected to see Governor and Madame 
 Stuyvesant, and some were not pleased with them 
 for paying so much attention to people who are 
 always interfering with our rights and interests; 
 but as for me I said nothing which is my way 
 when there are disputes and in a few moments I 
 was glad I had been so prudent." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Because, after calling ' good-byes ' to Mr. 
 Hubbard, Lady Moody and Agratha went straight 
 to The Wasp, and lo ! and behold ; a sailor in full 
 uniform let down the rope which had been across 
 the gangway, and Lord Mclvar came hurriedly;
 
 72 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 from the upper deck. First he led Lady Moody 
 on board, and then returned for Agratha. He 
 stretched out both hands to her, and acted just 
 as I suppose a lover ought to do. We were all 
 astonished, and many thought Agratha was run 
 ning away with " 
 
 " Stop one minute, Blandina," said Madame 
 with a touch of anger in her voice, " you all knew 
 well, that Agratha was not running away with 
 anyone. She is only a child. Does it hurt you, 
 that she should have a week's holiday and a little 
 pleasure? " 
 
 " For myself, I say no ; but there are others 
 who talk of playing with fire, and so on, and so on. 
 And handsome young lords are just a kind of con 
 suming fire. The girls in New Amsterdam have 
 been in a very blaze of jealousy, ever since Lord 
 Mclvar was seen. But then! Please to remem 
 ber that is the way with the English, they put 
 everything in order of battle wherever they come. 
 May the God of peace and good will keep them 
 far off, for the rest of our lives." 
 
 " Pshaw, now ! The English can't trouble me. 
 My next door neighbours could do it easier. See 
 here, once, Blandina, as you go up and down, you 
 may say that Agratha Van Ruyven's visit was 
 planned and promised before The Wasp came here, 
 and Lord Mclvar has nothing whatever to do 
 with my daughter." 
 
 " Well, then, he should not carry on in the
 
 AGRATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH 73 
 
 way he did. I wish you had seen him once, 
 clasping her hands, and smiling into her face, 
 and " 
 
 " And I take leave to say, that I am sure he 
 clasped Lady Moody's hands, and smiled into her 
 face in just the same manner. There is no dis 
 pensing with these fopperies in decent society, but 
 no doubt the English are too obvious in their com 
 pliments. Kindly excuse me speaking it so plain, 
 Blandina. Allowances are to be made in judging 
 strangers, especially when we have given them such 
 freedoms as we have given the English. They 
 take advantages ; that is natural." 
 
 " Their impudence is past declaring," answered 
 Blandina, " and as for their compliments, the$ 
 are like the wind, for everyone. Now my maxims 
 are truth and common-sense, and so I never lis 
 tened to anything they said ; that is, I gave it no 
 regard." 
 
 " A very wise young woman are you, Blandina 
 Wolfert." 
 
 " Well then, that is the truth. I am generally 
 known for my prudence. No one may look at my 
 face to admire, but my conduct is " 
 
 " Come, now, Blandina, you have just told me 
 one of your maxims was truth, and you are not 
 living up to the truth now. You know you have 
 a pretty face, yes " 
 
 " Well, then, I may be pretty. If it is the 
 truth, I will not deny it. But it is not my way
 
 74 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 to praise myself, I do not think it respectable or 
 pious. It is against the Holy Scriptures, and I 
 respect the Holy Scriptures. So I do not praise 
 myself, I praise others, that is to my credit, 
 Domine Megapolensis has said so, often." 
 
 " Then I hope you will put to silence any fool 
 ishness about Agratha's visit to Gravesend. You 
 know the truth now." 
 
 " I shall do my best, Madame, but " and but 
 and still but, until Madame was weary and a lit 
 tle offended. Then Blandina went away with a 
 pretence of hurry, and a cackle of words not 
 consonant with that Spirit of Truth, which she 
 claimed as h,er special excellency. 
 
 It was dark when Paul reached home that night, 
 but Ragel knew from the stamp and hurry of his 
 feet he had heard something to annoy him; and 
 she thought instantly of The Wasp. But she pos 
 sessed that clever wifely diplomacy, which comes of 
 an intelligent intimacy, and she met him cheer 
 fully and made no allusion to his being more than 
 half an hour late. Paul felt her mood to be 
 comfortable, and he resolved to delay all inquiries 
 until his supper had been enjoyed. Gus was just 
 putting it on the table, and the viands had a 
 tempting and satisfying odour. 
 
 Ragel, however, knew better than to delay until 
 her husband began to question her; that was a 
 challenging she always resented. Therefore, as 
 soon as the proper moment had arrived, she said : 
 " I suppose Agratha left about noon, and I
 
 AGRATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH 75 
 
 lieve there was a crowd to see The 
 sail." 
 
 "I heard; I heard," he answered in an injured 
 tone, " and I would like to know how Agratha 
 came to be on The Wasp. I am very angry, for 
 thou told me she was going with Lady Moody." 
 
 " Well, then, she did go with Lady Moody." 
 
 " I heard that James Hubbard left Agratha and 
 Lady Moody on The Wasp, and then went back 
 to the city with all sail set." 
 
 " He did so. Listen, Paul. There was a great 
 consignment of provisions, clothing and other 
 needful things to the Colony of Gravesend, lying 
 at Isaac Allerton's wharf. It had but poor shel 
 ter, a storm might come at any hour, and many 
 families waiting anxiously for their flour and other 
 provisions. James Hubbard, who had come to 
 look after them, told Lady Moody he had relied 
 on the use of her sloop, and begged her to favour 
 him and the colony so far. What could she do? " 
 
 " Could she not have gone with the goods and 
 Hubbard? " 
 
 " Hubbard had the goods to put on board, and 
 he will not reach Gravesend until late to-night, or 
 it may be to-morrow. And while she was talking 
 with Hubbard, Captain Schofield came in, and of 
 fered her and our Agratha passage on The Wasp. 
 For you know the ship goes there both to get vic 
 tualing and fresh water. There is no need to say 
 more to thee, Paul, for never wast thou unfriendly 
 or unreasonable since I knew thee."
 
 76 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 This excuse, being a business one, was readily; 
 admitted by Paul to be a valid one, but he added: 
 " It puts thee and me in a very bad light, and peo 
 ple are talking about it." 
 
 " I am not against their talking, if it please 
 them to tell the truth." 
 
 " Thy son Nicholas came into my office and said 
 he was astonished and pained at thy carelessness, 
 and he talked in a way that angered me. Some 
 words we had that I will not repeat. And no 
 sooner had he left my office, than son William 
 came with his preachment." 
 
 " Pray then, what did our William say? " 
 
 " He said he wanted his sister sent to that 
 girl's boarding school in Boston, where his wife 
 was educated." 
 
 " Tell him his mother said she would not for her 
 life send Agratha to that school, lest she became 
 in the least degree like his wife." 
 
 " He said he did not approve of her going to 
 the Fort, she saw too many men there, and that 
 his wife considered her presence at the Fort ball 
 most injudicious and improper." 
 
 " His wife ! Paul, I am heart tired of that per 
 fect woman. Before Wim married her, he was a 
 good fellow, a pleasant happy fellow with a smile 
 always ready. Now! Well now, I wouldn't give 
 a shoe-string for his good heart, unless God will 
 the belief that he has the most perfect woman in 
 undertake to mend it. And he noodles along in
 
 AGRATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH 77 
 
 the world for his wife! What did thou say to 
 him? " 
 
 " I let him talk, till he got to his usual ending : 
 ' those are my opinions, father.' Then I laughed a 
 bit, and told him they were far more like his wife's 
 opinions, and that I had no objections to them, 
 except that they were exactly opposite to my 
 opinions." 
 
 " I know how the talk will fly to-morrow, for 
 Blandina Wolfert was here, and I heard from her 
 that people thought our little Agratha had run 
 away with that long, thin, thread-paper of a 
 Scotch Lord and a lot of rubbishy lies of the 
 same kind." 
 
 " The clashing jades ! " cried Paul in a burst of 
 passion, " I will have them up before the consistory 
 for slander." 
 
 " Nonsense ! Everything they have said, or will 
 say, can only come from their jealousy and envy. 
 It is better to be envied than pitied, and it would 
 not become Paul Van Ruyven to stand before the 
 consistory in defence of his little child; who is far 
 off needing either defence or excuse in anyway. 
 The Innocent One ! " 
 
 " That is the truth. Before there is a defence, 
 there must be an accusation and I will not suppose 
 one against Agratha. No, I will not." 
 
 " Cast the whole affair out of thy mind. If 
 any women come to me about my little daughter, 
 I have words ready for them. As for Nicholas
 
 and Wim they cackle after their wives. Little 
 we care what they say, and if again they trouble 
 thee, on any such matter, send them home to study 
 their Fifth Commandment. I suppose they have 
 not forgotten their catechism, or quite put their 
 wives' opinions before it. Is this all that troubles 
 thee? If so, thou art well off." 
 
 " The rest I bear with the whole city. Isaac 
 Allerton came to me just after Wim left, and he 
 has little hope of any good from the new govern 
 ment." 
 
 " Stuyvesant again, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Yes. He has ordered that every house sell 
 ing spirits, beer or tobacco, is to be closed on 
 the Sabbath, and fines for breaking this law, and 
 many others are appointed." 
 
 " Well, then, that is proper, Paul. Men 
 should not go to a tavern on the Sabbath." 
 
 " Stuyvesant's order will not prevent it. Last 
 Sabbath all the public doors were closed, and all 
 who wanted liquor went in by the family door. 
 What good is that for anyone? It is only add 
 ing deception to drinking, and the youngsters 
 think it good fun to cheat the constables. And 
 last night, the constables were empowered to take 
 all the lock-up money to the captain of the 
 watch ; he is to hold it for their benefit, and divide 
 it among them four times in a year. See now, 
 Ragel, as the city grows, what a great and secret 
 perquisite this money will become! Many a man
 
 AGRATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH 79 
 
 sailors especially will be locked up on a false 
 charge to increase it, or else they will satisfy the 
 constable by that subtle secret argument, which 
 comes from the pocket, instead of the brain. 
 Again, if they have a spite at any man, they may 
 lock him up and put him to charges. Ragel, I 
 say it is too much power in the hands of the con 
 stables. Oh, we shall pay for it ! " 
 
 " But the constables must do right, Paul. 
 ^The City Councillors will see to that." 
 
 " Stuyvesant's idea of a City Councillor's duty, 
 is that he unhesitatingly ratify whatever Stuy- 
 yesant wills. Yesterday he made that perfect 
 scoundrel Tienhoven Sheriff-attorney of the 
 city." 
 
 " But the Council will not accept him. He is 
 the vilest, and the most hated of men. He has 
 robbed the Company, the City, and every man he 
 could touch." 
 
 " That is the truth, and also in Holland he is 
 under indictment for grave offences. But Stuy- 
 yesant said, ' take him ' and no one dared to re 
 fuse him." 
 
 " There was some opposition, Paul. Surely 
 there was some opposition?" 
 
 " No one dared to make any opposition, but his 
 acceptance was accompanied by a humble petition 
 to Stuyvesant, to admonish Tienhoven to treat 
 them well, and endeavor to give satisfaction. I 
 can see Stuyvesant laughing over that advice."
 
 80 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " But the charges against Tienhoven have not 
 yet been investigated." 
 
 " Tienhoven has investigated them, and finds 
 himself spotlessly innocent, and Stuyvesant is his 
 friend." 
 
 " But, Paul, Stuyvesant has always been re 
 ported an honest man. Jan Hoag left one thou 
 sand guilders with him to be sent to his family in 
 Holland, and by good investments he made it 
 nearly two thousand, and he sent every stiver to 
 the man's wife. He made no charges of any kind 
 on it." 
 
 " Jan Hoag was his friend. Well, then, Stuy 
 vesant would not wrong his friend, or tithe a 
 friend's trust; but Ragel, so many men seem to 
 think a public trust may be, should be, admin 
 istered for the benefit of the trustee. There al 
 ways have been such men, and there always will 
 be. Cornelis Van Tienhoven will some day lie 
 mouldering in his grave, but his spirit will go 
 marching on." 
 
 " We all know, Paul, that Stuyvesant is a sharp 
 business man, but he is not dishonest." 
 
 " A very sharp business man is Peter Stuj- 
 vesant, and he carries on all kinds of business, all 
 over the country. He is a brewer, he has several 
 bouweries, he owns three ships trading to Boston, 
 Norfolk, and Jamaica. He is also part owner in 
 several ships trading with Java, and the Far 
 East ; he is a general merchant, a trader for furs
 
 AGRATHA'S LITTLE TRIUMPH 81 
 
 with the Indians, and hath ventures in both law 
 ful and contraband articles. What then? Are 
 we not all such and such men ? And with so many 
 irons in the fire, Tienhoven can doubtless do many 
 things for Stuyvesant, he could not do for him 
 self." 
 
 " But Tienhoven is such a nasty, ugly, foul ob 
 ject. I see not how Stuyvesant can endure his 
 company. I met him last week in Steenwyck's 
 store; he has grown fat and thick, his face is red 
 and bloated, and has a wen on the left cheek, and 
 his sickly-looking white hands were covered with 
 short red hairs. Oh, he was a horrible creature, 
 and yet there are women oh, how can they ? " 
 
 " I never look at him, Ragel. If I did, I should 
 long to strangle him as I would a wolf or a dog. 
 But he is now our Sheriff-attorney, and it is Stuy- 
 vesant's will that we pay him all due respect. 
 Isaac Allerton says he will not speak to him or 
 notice his presence, wherever he may meet him. I 
 shall do as Allerton does." 
 
 " Is he a safe man for thee to follow? " 
 
 " He is as good a gentleman as any that live. 
 If he sit beside me, let the rest walk in God's name. 
 Ragel, I am tired, I have felt the day to be long 
 and hard." 
 
 " Then, I will call in the servants and thou can 
 read a short psalm, and we will soon find our 
 sleep. To-morrow, I must send Gus to Grave- 
 send."
 
 82 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 "But why?" 
 
 " To take to Agratha a little frock that was not 
 finished when she left this morning. She must 
 dress to her company, Paul. There is no help for 
 that. I hope she is fast on sleep by this time, and 
 I say to her : * Good-night, Agratha, and a happy 
 to-morrow to thee ! ' : Van Ruyven smiled and 
 though he did not speak, Madame knew her desire 
 had found an echo in his heart.
 
 CHAPTER FOUR 
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 
 
 THE day that had been so unrestful to Paul and 
 Ragel Van Ruyven, had been a very pleasant one 
 to their daughter Agratha. The Wasp had 
 dropped leisurely along the coast to Gravesend, 
 where she arrived about sunsetting. This colony 
 with few exceptions was intensely English, and the 
 visit of an English battleship was an event stirring 
 every sentiment and prejudice of the race. Lady 
 Moody understood and sympathised with the 
 popular feeling, and it was at her request Captain 
 Schofield as they approached the wharf ordered 
 the English flag to the mast head. As it flew out 
 and above them, a mighty cheer broke forth, cheer 
 after cheer until the very air was vibrant. 
 Strong, bearded men stood bareheaded, flinging up 
 hats and caps to their shouts, and many women 
 were on their knees, sobbing hysterically, when 
 they could no longer speak. Amid this passionate 
 stress of feeling, Lady Moody with Lord Mclvar 
 and Agratha went on shore. Captain Schofield 
 was to remain on the ship, but Sir Henry Moody 
 
 83
 
 84 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 was waiting to accompany his mother, and 
 Agratha and Lord Mclvar walked hand in hand 
 beside them. 
 
 There had been some delay in the landing, and 
 it was then graving dark, so Mclvar could see 
 little of his cousin's residence, except that it was 
 a large double stone house, with deep set diamond- 
 shaped windows, and a projecting roof. On three 
 sides there was a wide piazza, that in summer 
 time was covered with vines. It stood apart from 
 all other houses, within the high palisades, near the 
 northeast corner. His first impression was, that 
 it looked very like a fortress, and daylight proved 
 this impression to be a correct one. The door was 
 a ponderous affair, double, and both outer and 
 inner door heavily barred with iron. Very high 
 up were large bull's eyes, which admitted a little 
 light. But as soon as- this massive entrance was 
 passed, the house revealed a fine and comfortable 
 furnishing, that would have been astonishing, had 
 he not known that Lady Moody had brought with 
 her the moveable treasures of the old Moody 
 Manor House to adorn her home in the New 
 World. 
 
 The entrance hall was wide, and like the halls of 
 most English manor houses ran through the whole 
 width of the building. It was in fact the modern 
 reception room, and contained two large fire 
 places, fur rugs, a sofa, some chairs and tables, 
 and a rack on which to hang hats and coats, whips,
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 85 
 
 spurs, and so forth. The walls were adorned 
 with great antlers of elk and deer, stuffed birds 
 and animals, guns, pistols, swords, a flag from 
 Naseby's battlefield, and many relics and curiosi 
 ties procured from the Indians. Opposite the 
 principal fireplace stood a large eight day clock, 
 which told not only the time of day, but also the 
 day of the month, the year, the phases of the 
 moon and other items relating to time. 
 
 On the right hand side of this hall was the guest 
 parlour, and Agratha was sitting there, when her 
 father and mother sent her their loving good 
 night. It was an exceedingly spacious room, so 
 spacious that on several occasions it had been used 
 as a citadel when the village was attacked by In 
 dians. Against the south wall there were shelves 
 containing the largest collection of books then in 
 America. They were mostly religious and histori 
 cal works, polyglots of Antwerp and Paris, 
 flanked by colossal theologians Augustine, 
 Jerome, Aquinas, Calvin, Luther, etc.; natural 
 enemies in life, here bound over to good behaviour. 
 There was a Babylonion Talmud, and some dumpy 
 vellums of Dutch divines, with the more modern 
 works of Jeremy Taylor, Mr. Richard Baxter's 
 Demosthenic fervour, Howe's Platonic loftiness, 
 and John Bunyan's beatific visions. Most of the 
 early poets had a shelf to themselves containing the 
 works of the Earl of Surrey, Sir Thomas Wyatt, 
 William Drummond, John Donne, Cowley, South-
 
 86 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 well, Marlowe, Spencer, Fletcher, Shakespeare, and 
 John Milton. 
 
 All the rest of the available space on the walls 
 was covered with paintings, mostly portraits, but 
 each one so imbued with the life of the family they 
 represented, that they affected the living like per 
 sonal presences. A large sideboard shone with 
 silver and crystal, and there were soft large chairs 
 for resting in, and others of carved oak up 
 holstered in Spanish leather, and ornamented with 
 arabesques stamped in gold. Much fine china was 
 in the corner cupboards, and the floor was covered 
 with bright-coloured rugs. Nor was there want 
 ing bits of bric-a-brac, miniatures, crystal vases, 
 filagree, enamel and trinkets, and those little oddi 
 ties as necessary to a well-furnished room, as trim 
 mings are to a handsome gown. 
 
 A large fireplace tiled in the Dutch fashion held 
 a bright glowing fire, and Agratha basked in its 
 ruddy light, listening to the conversation of the 
 Moodys and Lord Mclvar. The young man was 
 asking Lady Moody why she had left England, 
 and her beautiful English home ; and she answered 
 with a quick decisiveness : 
 
 " That I might be a free woman that I might 
 manage my home without Star Chamber orders." 
 
 " But what had the Star Chamber to do with 
 your home, cousin. And where could you be freer 
 than in England? " 
 
 " In those days, Gael Mclvar, there was no pre-
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 87 
 
 tence of liberty. The King and Stafford derided 
 the idea. Even people of condition had to walk 
 in the King's harness. It was not tolerable. I 
 went up to my house in London one winter, and the 
 Star Chamber ordered me to return to my 
 manor, and look after the poor, and set them a 
 good example. I was a good Lady of the Manor 
 of Moody. I needed no one to tell me to be so, 
 least of all the infamous Star Chamber. Then 
 and there, I and my son Henry determined to sell 
 the estate, and come to America." 
 
 " But why did the Star Chamber interfere with 
 you : Had you been talking politics ? " 
 
 " I am of the blood and breed of Oliver Crom 
 well," she answered with a majestic pride, that well 
 became her boast. " Could I help wishing, as I 
 drank my birthday toast, that England might 
 again become free, and bold and prosperous? " 
 
 " Oh ! h h ! I see, cousin." 
 
 " And loving God with all my soul, could I help 
 going to St. Paul's Cross to hear George Fox tell 
 us about The Inner Light, and Doctor Calamut 
 make plain why Infant Baptism was not the rite 
 that Christ and John the Baptist sanctioned. I 
 had gone to London specially to hear the preach 
 ing at Paul's Cross. What right had the King to 
 interfere with my personal plans ? " 
 
 " I see, cousin. I see plainly why you were or 
 dered to leave London." 
 
 " Let me tell you, Gael Mclvar, one thing ; and
 
 88 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 remember what I say : When a man and a woman 
 can neither drink the toast of their heart, nor lis 
 ten to the Word of God, by the mouth of such 
 holy men as they choose, I say they are slaves. 
 They are not free. For freedom is not an idea. 
 Freedom is a thing you can feel. It means noth 
 ing less than the full and quiet enjoyment of your 
 own opinions and your own property. If it does 
 not mean this, call yourself what you like, you are 
 a slave." 
 
 " For such freedom you have paid a great price, 
 cousin." 
 
 " If I had given up all to the last farthing, I 
 must needs have done so. For Deborah Moody 
 sucked the milk of freedom, was nursed in the arms 
 of freedom, and stood between the knees of Hamp- 
 den and Cromwell. If she could forget or deny 
 their noble words and brave deeds, their watching 
 and suffering and God-given victories, she ought to 
 be buried in chains with her face downwards." 
 As she spoke she was transfigured, her eyes had the 
 light of immortality, her words were full of flam 
 ing passion, and the room felt as if it was on fire. 
 No one could help thinking of that other Deborah 
 that mother in Israel, singing triumphiantly un 
 der the great plane tree " My heart is towards 
 the governors of Israel, that offered themselves 
 willingly among the people. Bless ye the Lord! " 
 (Judges 5:9.) 
 
 There were a few moments of intensely sensitive
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 89 
 
 silence, then Sir Henry said in his soft, slow man 
 ner : " We are but the instruments of heaven, 
 Gael, our life and work is not of design, it is of 
 destiny." 
 
 Gael did not immediately answer, and Lady 
 Moody added : " Heaven chalked the line that 
 brought us here, and knowingly we shall not step 
 to the right or the left outside of it." 
 
 Then Agratha stirred slightly; she felt that 
 Gael Mclvar was looking at her, and something 
 within made her uneasy at his regard. The next 
 moment she stood up and in the glow of red light 
 from the well-burned hickoi^ logs, the girl had a 
 bewildering loveliness, powerfully aided by the 
 dress she wore a dark green cloth skirt, just 
 showing evening shoes of scarlet Morocco, with 
 silver latches and little rosettes. The green 
 bodice over a white under bodice was fastened 
 down the front with crossed lacings of narrow 
 scarlet ribbon, and small bows of the same, and 
 in her loosened golden-brown hair there was a 
 larger bow, fastening the snood that kept it in 
 comfortable confinement. Even Sir Henry, though 
 his mind was busy with some religious problem of 
 Mr. Richard Baxter's, could not help dropping a 
 moment from the heights of a theological surmise 
 to a passing admiration for the purely physical 
 beauty on his own hearthstone. He was much 
 older than Gael Mclvar, but the younger man had 
 found out what Sir Henry with all his learning
 
 90 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 had failed to discover that the key to life is not 
 in the brain but in the heart. 
 
 There was only a few moments' silence ere 
 Agratha said in a petulant tone: " Lady Moody, 
 I am tired and very sleepy. May I go away? I 
 want to be on the ice early to-morrow." 
 
 " To-morrow, child ! In what far off country 
 does to-morrow dwell ? " And Lady Moody looked 
 at the child almost sadly. 
 
 " Perhaps in the country that I dream is my 
 country. I do not think it is this world." 
 
 "What then, Agratha?" 
 
 " I know not, I am sleepy." 
 
 Her childish petulance had a tone of im 
 patience, and Lady Moody touched a small silver 
 hand bell. 
 
 " I will call Ladarine Gilpin," she said. " She 
 will get you all you desire." 
 
 In a few moments Ladarine appeared. She was 
 a North-Country English woman, taller than 
 Lady Moody, large limbed and very strong. Her 
 face was well shaped, and her complexion fine, her 
 eyes grey and bright, her hair black and plentiful, 
 most hidden under a Quakerish cap. She was 
 gowned in black camblet, and wore a white muslin 
 apron very much embroidered. It was Ladarene's 
 one vanity, and she could always find excuses for 
 it. 
 
 " Ladarine," said Lady Moody, " Agratha is 
 tired and sleepy."
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 91 
 
 " God love her ! I should think she was. Chil 
 dren ought to be in bed long before this hour. 
 Come your ways with me, Dearie. Thanks be! 
 there is a good bed waiting for thee." 
 
 Agratha smiled tolerantly and with a courtesied 
 " good-night " she went towards the door, but 
 Lord Mclvar followed her in such haste that it 
 was opened when she reached it. Though but 
 nineteen years old, the dreamy wistful longing of 
 Love's luxurious woe had come to him, as it comes 
 to all. He was fathoms deep in love with this 
 childish Agratha. It was such an amazing event. 
 For his love had grown so insensibly, and yet so 
 fast, that he could not understand how so slender 
 an experience should imperatively make one soul 
 say to another soul " I love you." Yet he 
 knew that Agratha's image in his heart had be 
 come part of himself, and that for good or ill, 
 she must rule his life. 
 
 Agratha's feelings toward him were far more 
 indeterminate. She had been flattered by his at 
 tentions, and he had given her a taste of that 
 bitter-sweet social success, which had for a few 
 hours set her above all other women present. But 
 she was yet of that age when simplicity of heart 
 accepts and enjoys without troubling itself to 
 analyse causes, or anticipate results. This man 
 had been travelling unerringly his long journey 
 straight to her, but as yet her soul had not ac 
 knowledged him. His image was only on the
 
 92 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 horizon of her thoughts she might be this, or she 
 might be that, but she was not in love with Gael 
 Mclvar ; for though he looked at her with eyes full 
 of love, there was nothing responsive in her 
 countenance. 
 
 Her first words to Ladarine were of herself. 
 " I wish, Miss Gilpin," she said, " you would stop 
 calling me child; I am going out to parties with 
 my fader and moeder, now." 
 
 " To be sure. I see a bit of difference in thee, 
 but for goodness sake, Dearie, don't be scornful 
 about thy childhood. Happen it is the cream of 
 thy life." 
 
 " A child has to sit still and listen to whatever 
 people talk about, and I am so tired of Peter 
 Stuyvesant, and Oliver Cromwell." 
 
 " So am I, Dearie. I don't think much of 
 either of them." 
 
 " What time is it, Lada?" 
 
 " It is going up hill to ten o'clock." 
 
 " I thought so. It has been such a long day. 
 It seems like a year since I bid moeder good-bye. 
 I dare say she is thinking of me this very minute, 
 Lada. May I call you Lada ? " 
 
 " 1 will let thee do so, but I do not hold with 
 other people sa3 T ing Lada. I was baptised in As- 
 patria church, Ladarine, and I was entered in the 
 Baptism Register, Ladarine; so I am against my 
 name being broken in two. I don't like it. It is
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 93 
 
 out of the question I should. And Then Above 
 may not like it either." 
 
 " I called you Lada when I was a little girl." 
 " God love thee ! So thou did, and I must have 
 been a right good sort to let thee do it." 
 
 "You are just as good now, as then Lada!" 
 " To be sure I am, maybe I am a bit better. 
 Now whatever art thou wanting? " 
 
 " When I was a little girl, you used to say some 
 thing to me after the candle was put out Do you 
 remember? " 
 
 " To be sure I do." 
 
 " Say it to-night. I want to hear it again." 
 " Lie down then, and I will lap thee up, and say 
 it." 
 
 So Ladarine put out the candle, and drew the 
 logs on the hearth together, and having lapped 
 Agratha in soft fleecy blankets, she took her hands 
 between her own, and said softly with her fine 
 North Country inflections: 
 
 " There are three angels round thy bed, 
 One at thy feet, two at thy head, 
 One to watch, and one to pray, 
 One to drive all ill away. Amen." 
 
 Then she tip-toed out of the room, for Agratha 
 Was already asleep or at least too far on the road 
 to that strange land to answer Lada's whispered 
 " good-night."
 
 94 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 In the morning life looked different. The sun 
 was shining, and children laughing and talking in 
 the street. She thought of the ice, and of Lord 
 Mclvar's promise to go with her to the pond ; and 
 a shade of annoyance came over her face. She did 
 not like the idea of skating even with a lord who 
 might act foolishly, might even fall down. 
 
 " And Sir Henry is a very bad skater too," she 
 said ruefully to herself, " and I wish I had never 
 spoken about the pond." 
 
 But her fears on this subject vanished, as soon 
 as met, for when she told Mclvar of Captain Scho- 
 field's description of his ignorance, he laughed 
 heartily. " I was the best skater at Eton," he 
 said, " and Schofield is but a poor foot on ice. 
 He was afraid I would outdo him ; I must tell my 
 mother; I never heard her accused of such con 
 sideration for others, before." 
 
 Indeed Mvlvar proved himself very clever on 
 the ice, and Agratha had all the eclat she desired. 
 With an hour or two's interval at noon, they spent 
 the day on the pond, and were as happy together 
 as love and youth, skill and fine weather could 
 make them. About four in the afternoon, 
 Agratha saw Gus coming towards them. 
 
 " There comes our house-man," she said. " To 
 me he is coming. Moeder has sent me a letter no 
 doubt. Let us go and meet it." 
 
 The letter was in the man's hand, and she took 
 it eagerly. After she had broken the seal, she
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 95 
 
 looked up at Gus, and was going to ask him a 
 question but his face shocked her. It was white 
 as death, his eyes full of tears, his upper teeth 
 biting his under lip, his hands clasped tight. 
 From Gus she glanced to Mclvar, and saw that he 
 also was strangely moved. He was frowning, his 
 face was dark and angry, and yet there were tears 
 in his eyes also. The incident was rapid and 
 silent, the next moment Mclvar had recovered him 
 self. Then he asked Agratha, " If she wished to 
 write an answer to her mother's letter? " 
 
 " I have not read moeder's letter yet," she re 
 plied. 
 
 " Suppose we go back to the house, you must be 
 tired," he continued. 
 
 "Are you tired of the ice? " she asked. 
 
 " Yes until to-morrow." 
 
 Something had happened, the day was over, and 
 almost silently they walked home. Mclvar made 
 some efforts to talk, but they were failures; for 
 he felt that Agratha at that hour was not in his 
 life. He wished her away, that he might indulge 
 the passion that filled his heart with thoughts of 
 unspeakable calamities, and blood-thirsty but im 
 possible revenge. Gus walked silently behind 
 them, and Agratha noticed that Mclvar turned 
 his head several times, and that twice at least, 
 he swung his right arm backward, and though she 
 did not see the act, she felt positively that Gus 
 clasped it. She was oppressed by a sense of some
 
 great sorrow, secret and hopeless, with whose bit 
 terness she might not intermeddle. 
 
 It was an unsatisfactory evening. Mclvar had 
 a private interview with Lady Moody after dinner, 
 and then went to his room, and she was very soon 
 left with Sir Henry, who was pottering among his 
 books looking for a mislaid volume. And when 
 Lady Moody joined them, she was full of strange 
 news. 
 
 " Henry " she said, " Captain Underbill has 
 just called to tell me that a shipload of slaves has 
 arrived from the coast of Africa. Underbill, 
 Baxter and Hubbard are going in the morning to 
 New Amsterdam, to secure as many as possible 
 for Gravesend. They appeared to be much grati 
 fied. I know not what to say." 
 
 " Mother, we must have help to till the ground." 
 
 " We came here for Liberty, and how can we 
 justly enslave others?" 
 
 " Governor Stuyvesant thinks it unavoidable. 
 He will see that the Company gets its full share of 
 profit no doubt of that." 
 
 "Will you go with Underbill and Baxter?" 
 
 " No, I have no mind to do that. Who can talk 
 against Stuyvesant and Underbill? I should be 
 talked down, for my opinions are not current 
 ones." 
 
 As the conversation continued on this subject, 
 and there was no mention of Lord Mclvar, 
 Agratha soon wearied of it, and went to look for
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 97 
 
 Ladarine. She found her in a small room darn 
 ing stockings and singing. 
 
 " Talk to me, Ladarine," she said. " In the 
 parlour they talk of nothing but negroes, and 
 negroes are not interesting to me. Lord Mclvar 
 is not there, and he promised to teach me chess this 
 evening, and it is always the way." 
 
 " He should not have turned his back on a prom 
 ise, should he? " 
 
 " No. Has he gone to The Wasp? " 
 
 " Not he ! He went to his room." 
 
 " Did our house-man go with him? " 
 
 "Whatever art thou asking questions for?" 
 
 " I want to make you answer them." 
 
 "Then thou sets thyself too hard a job. It 
 isn't my time for answering questions." 
 
 " I think Lord Mclvar and Gus know each 
 other." 
 
 " I wouldn't wonder. Men know lots of people 
 they have no business to know." 
 
 " Do you think Lord Mclvar will come to the 
 parlour again to-night? " 
 
 " I do not think he will. Thou might as well 
 go to bed." 
 
 " Do you think I would wait up to see him? " 
 
 " I know thou would." 
 , " I think you do not like Lord Mclvar." 
 
 " I don't dislike him. He is a bit proud, but 
 in the main, he is a good sort. I have nothing 
 against him, not I ! "
 
 98 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " I wish I could see him for a few min 
 utes." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 " To bid him good-night. I want to go to 
 bed." 
 
 " Don't trouble thyself about good-nights. He 
 has other kinds of talk on hand at present. He 
 won't miss anybody's good-night." 
 
 " May I say good-night to you, Lada? " 
 
 " I would feel badly, if thou did not." 
 
 " Will you come upstairs with me, and call the 
 angels round my bed." 
 
 " To be sure I will. Happen they will keep 
 thee from thinking of Lord Mclvar." 
 
 " I do not think of him." 
 
 " That's right, I never would, if I were thee." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 "Because he is bound to forget thee, as soon 
 as Gravesend is out of his sight." 
 
 " Many, many times, he has told me he would 
 never, never forget me." 
 
 "And I'll warrant, thou believes him." 
 
 " Yes, from his heart the words came." 
 
 " God love thee ! Thou art an innocent babe, 
 to think so well of any man." Then she put her 
 housewife in a little wooden work box, with the 
 Tower of London painted on the lid, and went up 
 stairs with Agratha. It was about her father, 
 and her mother, and her elder sister living at Al 
 bany, that Agratha talked as she undressed, but as
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 99 
 
 Ladarine was closing the door she called back and 
 whispered : 
 
 " If Lord Mclvar comes downstairs, tell him 
 Agratha left a good-night for him." 
 
 " My Dearie, I will not do that." 
 
 "Why not, Lada? " 
 
 " He is in trouble, and there is no use in bother 
 ing him with a fear he has neglected thee. He'll 
 make a mountain out of that mole hill. Sleep and 
 have a good day to-morrow. The Wasp sails the 
 next morning." 
 
 " Lada! who told you that? " 
 
 " Baxter told me. He was on The Wasp to 
 day. He hangs round Englishmen as if they were 
 Gods." 
 
 " Good-night, Lada." 
 
 Then the door was closed, and Agratha was 
 alone with the unexpected news. She had been 
 told that the ship would sail on Saturday night, 
 and the change of date to Thursday was a shock. 
 She turned sharply over in her bed and said to 
 herself. " Not much do I care. Let him go, 
 Lada is right. He will never think of me again. 
 Well then, I will not think of him again, after The 
 Wasp is out of my sight." 
 
 This was her determination, but great changes 
 of feeling often take place during sleep, and 
 Agratha awoke in the morning with a strange 
 tenderness and sorrow in her heart. " It is our 
 last day," she murmured, " our last day ! I must
 
 be kind to him to-day. Beside, he is in trouble, 
 and our Gus brought him the trouble. I will get 
 moeder to find out what it means No, I will ask 
 Gus one straight question when I go down stairs." 
 
 But when she told Ladarene she wished to send 
 a letter to her mother by Gus, she was informed 
 that Gus had gone to New Amsterdam at daylight. 
 
 " How did he go, Lada? " she asked. 
 
 " He went in Lady Moody's sloop, and Captain 
 Underbill, Mr. Hubbard and Mr. Baxter went with 
 him," was the answer. 
 
 " I am so sorry, Lada," said Agratha. 
 
 " There is no need to be sorry. Maybe it is a 
 good thing. Letters not sent, and words not said 
 are often fortunate things." 
 
 The words struck Agratha, and changed her in 
 tention so surely and rapidly, that ere she reached 
 the parlour she had positively resolved to keep 
 secret what she had intended to talk about. 
 
 " Till the right time comes," she thought, " till 
 the right time comes." 
 
 She was settled in this decision by the fact that 
 Mclvar ignored the whole circumstance. He said 
 he had had some important business to attend to 
 on the previous evening, and then he took her hand 
 and whispered sorrowfully : " This is our last day, 
 Agratha ! Stay with me ! " 
 
 She drew closer to him, but spoke no word. " I 
 am broken-hearted to leave you, darling, but I 
 shall come back, yes, I swear I shall come back.
 
 Listen, Agratha, I am now over nineteen years 
 old, I am going to Trinity College, Cambridge, un 
 til I come of age, then you will be old enough to 
 be my wife. Oh, Agratha ! Oh, thou most sweet ! 
 Then you will be my wife. You must know that 
 I am passionately in love with you, and past all 
 disguise. Upon my honour, Agratha, I am yours 
 to a degree beyond words. I feel, because I must 
 feel, that you love me a little. When I come back, 
 will you be my wife? " 
 
 " Without my fader and moeder's agreement, I 
 could not marry anyone. That is the truth." 
 
 " You sweet dissembler ! I will then ask your 
 father and mother for you. But now give me a 
 word of promise, from your own lips. Oh, my dear 
 Agratha, listen to me ! " and he poured out his 
 young passionate heart in such fervant words, as 
 drew her gently closer and closer to his side. 
 
 Agratha thought his tale of love to be some 
 thing quite new, and the ecstasy of his feelings 
 won her; all the more because they were tinged 
 with the sorrow of separation and uncertainty. 
 E is adoring, pleading glances, unbarred her heart, 
 her eyes mirrored his eyes, her hand clung to his 
 hand, and when at last he ventured to touch her 
 lips, she caught love from him in that one tender 
 kiss. 
 
 For souls attract souls when of kindred vein, 
 and Gael's soul had at their first meeting rushed 
 towards Agratha's soul, drawn by some profound
 
 102 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 and irresistible attraction. Their love was as yet 
 the magnetism of souls, it had no touch of mere 
 wantonness in it, and Gael Mclvar could say truly : 
 
 " Oh my Love ! My Love ! My j oy fills my 
 eyes with tears." 
 
 The day was a miserably wet one, and they 
 could not leave the house, but never again would 
 they spend hours so heavenly innocent and hal 
 cyon. They walked up and down the dim, quiet 
 room with clasped hands, and hearts full of the 
 serene stillness of a mutual love. They spoke 
 little, and that little in soft, short words. Be 
 tween them there was something better than 
 speech that perfect companionship, which finds 
 the loved one's presence sufficient. 
 
 Lady Moody and Sir Henry were both busy 
 interviewing the colonists and making a list of the 
 number and the kind of slaves each desired, and 
 Ladarine's house duties kept her sufficiently far 
 away. But their love-day, hour by hour came 
 inexorably to an end, and in the spacious firelit 
 room surrounded by the pictured presences of 
 the dead and the fading memorials of the Old 
 World everything they said became prescient, 
 wonderful, mysterious. To both, Love had given 
 to Life a new meaning; for there are certain feel 
 ings so deep in our nature, that only Love dare 
 venture down to them. 
 
 The next morning Gael Mclvar bid Agratha 
 fa'rewell. He did not attempt to hide his distress,
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 103 
 
 and at the last moment he kissed upon her lips 
 the words " Two Years ! Remember ! " She could 
 not answer. She stood white and tearful, unclasp 
 ing his hand, and the unfastening of that clasp 
 was a wrench she felt to be far more painful than 
 flesh and blood could account for. Hastily she 
 fled to her room, and from its window watched 
 The Wasp till she was only a speck on the horizon. 
 
 " Now it is all over ! " she whispered. " It is 
 all over! The world is empty, and I shall never 
 be happy again. Oh Gael ! Gael ! " and she threw 
 herself upon the bed, and wept bitterly and de 
 spairingly. 
 
 " Pray be kind to the child," said Lady Moody 
 to Ladarine. " She is in great trouble. Let her 
 talk to you, if she wishes." 
 
 " It is beyond wit to teach wisdom to a child 
 in love. What can a girl of fifteen know of 
 love? " asked Ladarene scornfully. 
 
 " In Faith, Ladarine, it is the girl of fifteen 
 who does know. To her Love is a heavenly thing. 
 I nearly died of Love when I was not quite fifteen." 
 
 "You! Oh my Lady, I- 
 
 " I nearly died of love." 
 
 " Well, I never ! I never, never, heard the like ! w 
 
 " Let me tell you, that at this present, I have 
 not forgotten the man. He was good, and he 
 grew to be great. My love for him is the sweetest 
 memory in my life. So be kind to Agratha. She 
 loved the young man better than she knew."
 
 104 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORII 
 
 " I set little by him. He gave himself out as 
 a Lord who knows ? " 
 
 " I know. Be sure of that. He is a Lord, and 
 he may become a Duke. He is very rich, both in 
 land and gold. His mother has been saving and 
 scrimping for him ever since he was born. She 
 is also a prudent woman, Ladarene, and for his 
 sake kept on the right side in politics." 
 
 " Then she will not let him marry a poor Dutch 
 girl." 
 
 " How it will come about I cannot tell, but he is 
 sure to marry Agratha. He loved her the mo 
 ment he saw her. And he has taught her to love 
 him." 
 
 " There's the rub. Women are a soft lot ! " 
 
 "Perhaps after all, Ladarine, it is just as well 
 they are. Were you never in love? " 
 
 " No. The only man in my village that I could 
 have loved, went and died." 
 
 " But there were other villages, and other men." 
 
 " No. In Oldsettle, where I come from, it is 
 Ourselves, to Ourselves. We don't marry Out 
 siders. We know better. It is hard to trust the 
 men you are brought up with, strangers are out 
 of the question. You never know what they will 
 be up to. Agratha will be the best off with her 
 mother when is she going home ? " 
 
 " I am going to New Amsterdam to-morrow. 
 She will go with me." 
 
 " Maybe, you are going to see the Governor."
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 105 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " About the negro slaves ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " If it please you, my lady, bring no negroes 
 here. I cannot bear them." 
 
 " But you need help in the house." 
 
 " Not black help ! Praise God, I can do better 
 without it. But if you are going to take Agratha 
 home to-morrow, it is not worth my while spending 1 
 time talking to her; for I am up to my elbows in 
 work to-day, and hardly know which way to turn." 
 
 " Let me tell you, Ladarene, that Mary Busy 
 Body never wants a hard day, but Mary Drone 
 has God to bring and give her." 
 
 " I think it a shame for the Governor to start 
 that slavery business. He has honest irons 
 enough in the fire, without the devil's trade." 
 
 " The Governor is not to blame. The people 
 here at Gravesend, and at Flushing, and at all 
 the Long Island villages have been talking slavery 
 for two years to Governor Stuyvesant. The 
 Governor is a good man." 
 
 " Good, good, good ! but God keep my sheep 
 out of his pasture." 
 
 " He wishes to do right, Ladarine." 
 
 " To be sure. We all wish to do right. It's 
 the doing right that is more than we can manage, 
 but right or wrong, God help our aims ! Stuyves 
 ant may be bad, but shame to them who make bad 
 worse. That isn't Ladarine Gilpin's way."
 
 106 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 The next morning was lowering and windy, but 
 the wind was favourable, and Lady Moody did not 
 alter her plans for wind or tide, unless it was an 
 imperative necessity. Agratha also was anxious 
 to see her mother. She was not sure that she 
 would tell her all that Lord Mclvar had promised ; 
 it was rather that strong human instinct, which 
 drives all men and women, when their hearts are 
 overwhelmed in sorrow, to the only human heart 
 that will never fail them. 
 
 So in spite of dark skies and troubled waters, 
 they embarked in Lady Moody's sloop, and ran 
 rapidly before the wind to New Amsterdam. 
 There was a little private wharf at the bottom of 
 Van Ruyven's garden and there they landed. It 
 was then about three in the afternoon, and Madam 
 Van Ruyven was just writing a letter to her 
 daughter, urging her to return. With a cry of 
 pleasure she rose when Agratha and Lady Moody 
 appeared, and immediately began to assist in the 
 removal of their wraps. All was in a happy con 
 fusion for a few minutes, then Agratha asked per 
 mission to go to her room and rest awhile. " I 
 have a headache, moeder," she said, " and I am 
 tired and sleepy with the wind." 
 
 Then Madame Van Ruyven asked Lady Moody 
 if she also would not like to rest for an hour, and 
 she answered cheerfully: 
 
 " In Faith, no, Madame. It will give me more 
 pleasure to talk awhile with you. I will sit by the
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 107 
 
 fire, and a cup of tea * will make me quite com 
 fortable." 
 
 Over this cup of tea the ladies became confi 
 dential, which was Lady Moody's intention. 
 Madame hoped Agratha had pleased her ladyship 
 in all matters, and Lady Moody answered : " She 
 is a perfect child-woman. Her little faults even 
 are captivating, and for my own part, I am not 
 astonished that Mclvar has gone away in a dis 
 traction of love for her." 
 
 " I am sorry for the young man," answered 
 Madame. " Agratha's father will never permit her 
 marriage to an Englishman." 
 
 " He is Scotch, Highland Scotch." 
 
 " Not any better is that. Forgive me ! I have 
 heard he is your cousin." 
 
 " Only a far off cousin, but I know the youth 
 and his mother well. Agratha can never do bet 
 ter," and as she sipped her tea she explained all the 
 circumstances relating to the young Lord's char 
 acter and fortune." 
 
 Madame Van Ruyven listened with a visible dis 
 sent and annoyance* She did not like another 
 woman having made the first step in ordering her 
 daughter's destiny. She told herself that was her 
 own privilege, and there was a certain young 
 Jonkeer at the Hague, the son of a friend of her 
 own youth, whom in her heart she had chosen for 
 
 The use of tea at this time was not general, but rich peo 
 ple, or those having influence with the East India Company, 
 received small packages as a great favor
 
 108 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Agratha's husband. So she listened coldly to 
 Lady Moody's talk of a possible dukedom, and 
 high court patronage, and answered with such 
 prudent reserve, that Lady Moody was astonished, 
 and perhaps a trifle offended. She was also sorry 
 she had taken any step beyond the first civilities, 
 and she wisely turned conversation to the subject 
 passionately interesting the whole community 
 the introduction of negro slaves. 
 
 " There was a deputation from Gravesend yes 
 terday to confer with the' Governor," said Lady 
 Moody. 
 
 " That is so," answered Madame. " They saw 
 the Governor this morning, and my husband told 
 me they had come to high words. Captain Under- 
 hill said all he thought, and 'tis well known what 
 kind of things Captain Underhill usually thinks. 
 People ought to keep their tempers, that is what 
 I say." 
 
 " Two years ago all the villages on Long Island 
 petitioned the Governor for negro slaves," said 
 Lady Moody. " I read their petition. They 
 complained that they were too much fatigued by 
 work, and asked for an importation of negroes 
 for whom they promised to pay ' whatever price 
 the Governor will order.' ' 
 
 " Well then, it was about the price they came 
 to words. My husband says it is easy to come to 
 words with men like Underhill, Baxter and James 
 Hubbard."
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 109 
 
 " I grant it, yet these three men know how to 
 choose their words for the occasion. What was 
 wrong with the price, Madame? " 
 
 " Well then, it was not the price of the negro, 
 but the tax of six dollars a head, which Stuyvesant 
 put on for the West India Company. Underbill 
 said it was too much, and that the burghers would 
 like to know who received the six dollars a head, 
 on the three or four hundred negroes, and Stuy 
 vesant answered : ' I have told you already the 
 Company claims it. Are you fools, asses, idiots, 
 that you don't understand me,' he cried. Then 
 Underbill asked how much of the six dollars went 
 to the Company, and how much went to the Com 
 pany's servants. And Stuyvesant flew into a 
 screaming rage, and threatened imprisonment and 
 fines and so on you know." 
 
 " Yes. Does any of the six dollars go to the 
 Company's servants ? " 
 
 " Mr. Baxter said they had information that 
 four dollars out of every six went to Governor 
 Stuyvesant. And the Governor stamped, and 
 swore, and declared they had heard the truth for 
 once. Then Underbill vowed the Company ought 
 to know what extortions and crimes were done in 
 its name. You see how it would be, Lady Moody, 
 and why the Governor called them snarling dogs, 
 barking with envy, because they could neither beg, 
 nor steal a share in the six dollar tax. Then two 
 halbadiers hearing the noise and confusion came
 
 110 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 into the room, and the Governor bid them ' away 
 with these whimperings, quarrelsome fellows ! Put 
 them outside, and let them howl to the winds. 
 The rest is not fit for women to talk about. No 
 indeed!'" 
 
 " Nor for men, either," answered Lady 
 Moody. 
 
 " Now these three men are going from wharf to 
 wharf, and from store to store, raising up anger 
 and disturbance." 
 
 " In truth, Madame, men like not to be called 
 dogs, and told to howl to the winds. Trust me, 
 they will find ears that will listen to their com 
 plaints." 
 
 Yes, I think that." 
 
 " And I am glad to have heard this much from 
 you, Madame, for I must now go at once to Gover 
 nor Stuyvesant, or Gravesend will lose her share 
 of whatever help has arrived. That would be a 
 great loss, for Spring will soon be here, and make 
 it very needful." 
 
 Lady Moody found the Governor and his family 
 just sitting down to their evening meal. They 
 were delighted to see her, and the Governor him 
 self placed her seat by his side. She immediately 
 began her petition for slaves to till the fields of 
 the Gravesend settlers. " I do fear without them, 
 Governor," she declared " we shall raise neither 
 corn nor wheat." 
 
 " In my judgment, Lady Moody, such men as
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 111 
 
 visited me this morning from Gravesend ought to 
 be made to till their own ground, or starve ! " 
 
 " I am sorry, Governor, that you were troubled 
 by their ill-conditioned words. Do not punish 
 me because of their lack of good breeding." 
 
 " You shall have all your necessity asks for, 
 OLady Moody, and I will deal as generously as pos 
 sible with your colony ; but Underbill, Baxter and 
 Hubbard, shall not have one man, woman or child. 
 I will not suffer them." 
 
 " They must blame themselves in this matter, 
 Governor." 
 
 " I am made the burden-bearer of all New 
 Netherland. This is the plain truth, but I know 
 the sort of men I have to deal with, and before 
 heaven and earth, I will drive my will through their 
 teeth ! Such barefaced things as they said to me, 
 and have since been saying up and down the city, 
 is intolerable. They lay too much weight on my 
 patience. They are a danger to the Company. I 
 will hang them without word or warrant." 
 
 " Now, Peter," said Madame Stuyvesant, " eat 
 thy meal in peace, or it may prove a poison to thee. 
 'Lady Moody will settle thy quarrel with those 
 three men." 
 
 "In Faith I will!" 
 
 " They are slandering dogs ! Base, beggarly 
 rebels, and traitors." 
 
 " Traitors ! Oh no, Governor, I hope not." 
 
 " Yes they are. I will swear it before all men.
 
 112 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 They are English spies. They are colleagueing 
 with England at this hour. Underhill vowed, in 
 one of his heats, he would fly the flag of St George 
 over this Fort. And the Yankees are with him 
 every mother's son of them so also is Hartford 
 and Connecticut and I can tell you, my lady, the 
 Long Island villages are not to be depended on. 
 To all of them we are what the Yankees called 
 us * their noxious neighbours.' I know; I know. 
 If I did what I ought to do, I would send Under 
 hill, Baxter and Hubbard to England to-morrow, 
 in a leaking ship. I would like to do it." 
 
 " But for my sake, Governor, you will look over 
 their offence. When I return home I will talk 
 with them." 
 
 " They shall not have a single slave." 
 
 " In that, Peter," said Mrs. Bayard, " thou witt 
 be doing good to thine enemies, which is a notable 
 grace in thee. For I take leave to say, enslaving 
 men and women is a great sin." 
 
 " A sin of necessity, Anna." 
 
 " There are no sins of that kind, Peter. Sin 
 is sin, and the man who sins, he shall die." 
 
 " They would die, no doubt, if women had judg 
 ment in their power. But Anna, the Lord is a 
 man of war, and He knows how hard it is for an 
 old soldier to endure civilians, who have never 
 learned what decent control and obedience to their 
 Governors mean. And the Lord is the Governor 
 among all the nations, and you may be sure that
 
 THE VISIT TO LADY MOODY 113 
 
 He has His own troubles with such men as head 
 strong, idolatrous Jews, and haughty, domineering 
 Englishmen." 
 
 "And what of Dutchmen, Peter?" asked 
 Madame Bayard. 
 
 " Dutchmen, Anna, if let alone, are easy-going 
 and good-tempered. All they want is peace and 
 good-will, and plenty of time to be happy with 
 their families, and to make some money. Minuet 
 and Van Twiller were governors in a Dutch Gol 
 den age, here in New Amsterdam. I am like poor 
 David, I so j ourn in Mesech, and dwell in the tents 
 of Kedar." 
 
 " Well then, Peter, all the more thou ought to 
 be forbearing and forgiving." 
 
 " Anna Stuyvesant Bayard, I do not pretend to 
 have thy natural grace. If I can keep step with 
 King David, I do well enough, and David not only 
 reproved his enemy Doeg, he prayed against him ; 
 prayed, that his lying lips and false tongue might 
 be smitten with sharp arrows, and coals of juniper. 
 Thou ought to read thy Bible more carefully, 
 Anna. I have to correct thee too often," and he 
 smiled at Anna with a domineering self-approval, 
 which might have brought him confusion, had not 
 Madame Stuyvesant suddenly asked Lady Moody 
 if she had brought home Agratha? " We do miss 
 her much," she added. 
 
 " She ought not to have gone to Gravesend at 
 all," said Stuyvesant.
 
 114 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " It was certainly cold and stormy, but she en 
 joyed the visit," answered Lady Moody. 
 
 " She has missed her lessons." 
 
 " She can make that ' miss ' up, I say freely, 
 that she ought now to be at some good school in 
 London, or the Hague. Her mother is so pre 
 judiced against the Boston schools." 
 
 " I am glad to hear it," answered Stuyvesant. 
 " It is the best thing I ever heard of Ragel Van 
 Ruyven." 
 
 " Her two daughters-in-law were educated in 
 Boston and she approves of neither of them," said 
 Madame Stuyvesant. 
 
 Stuyvesant laughed scornfully. " Someone 
 ought to keep a special school for daughters-in- 
 law," he said. " None of them seem to give satis 
 faction to mothers-in-law, no matter how theyj 
 act." 
 
 " When your two sons marry, Governor, " 
 
 " When they do, Lady Moody, they will doubt 
 less marry to please themselves. I did. I only 
 hope they will manage to win wives something like 
 their mother. They cannot match her in good 
 ness or beauty, but they can take the best left, 
 and be grateful." 
 
 Then Madame Stuyvesant said : " There is a 
 report of Elizabeth Anthony's marriage, but noth 
 ing certain," and so the conversation turned pleas 
 antly to the social conditions of the city, which 
 it appeared were strangely gay and extravagant.
 
 CHAPTER FIVE 
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 
 
 IN the meantime Agratha had bathed her face, 
 put on the simplest frock she could find and after 
 half an hour's rest had gone to her mother. 
 
 " Where then is Lady Moody? " she asked. " I 
 thought she would stay with us." 
 
 " She thought herself obliged to go to the Fort. 
 Thou must try and do without her." 
 
 " Very little that will trouble me ! I have thee, 
 dear moeder, and I am at home again." 
 
 " Art thou glad to be at home again ? " 
 
 " No other home is so good, and sweet and 
 happy." 
 
 "Did thou have a pleasant visit?" 
 
 " Yes, moeder." 
 
 " And was Lady Moody kind to thee ? " 
 
 " She is always kind to me. She is kind to 
 everyone." 
 
 Ah!" 
 
 " Moeder, I will tell you. Lady Moody is too 
 good, too kind. I wish she was like thee and my 
 self, all the same as other people. I wish she had 
 some little faults. I am so tired trying to be like 
 her always dressed always good-tempered al 
 ways busy always well. See now, if she would 
 
 115
 
 116 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 sometimes turn back her gown, and put on an 
 apron, and do things about the house, it would 
 have been pleasant to help her, as I help thee. 
 But no! She is fitly dressed at all hours, her 
 laces and ribbons are never crushed or soiled, her 
 hair is always smooth, her cap always straight. 
 Men and women come to her from morning to 
 night about all kinds of things, and she is never 
 cross or impatient. If anyone is sick, they expect 
 Lady Moody to care for them. She is never sick. 
 If she sometimes had a headache, or a bad cold, or 
 a fit of the megrims, or even got into a temper for 
 nothing at all, then you could love her more, for 
 you could do something for her. I hope I shall 
 never grow to be so perfect. I intend to do things 
 a little wrong, and be cross and untidy, and even 
 have some temper, now and then." 
 
 " Look now, Agratha, what good will come to 
 you from being naughty ? " 
 
 Then Agratha leaned her head on her mother's 
 breast, and answered in a low, crooning voice: 
 " I shall be so happy to say, * Dear moeder, I am 
 sorry as can be that I am naughty,' and the good 
 will come when you kiss me and whisper, * Never 
 mind, my Agratha. I do wrong myself many 
 times. It is of no consequence, Dear One.' That 
 is the good that comes to be loved, moeder." 
 
 '* Perhaps you are right you may be." 
 
 " Yes. I think of these things. I think of 
 many things, moeder, and I was astonished to
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 117 
 
 find myself saying to myself, if Elizabeth An 
 thony were here, it would be cheerful and pleas 
 ant; and I do not like Elizabeth Anthony only 
 she is exactly unlike Lady Moody." 
 
 " Did you see much of the woman who is Lady 
 Moody's housekeeper? " 
 
 " Ladarine ? Yes, I like Ladarine. She is 
 OLady Moody's great friend. She is cross very 
 often, but she has lots of things to vex her." 
 
 "How is that?" 
 
 " Because Lady Moody will not let them vex 
 her. It is Ladarine that has broths to make for 
 the sick, who mends clothes and who feeds and 
 dresses the babies when their mothers are sick. 
 I dare say she scolds them she scolds me some 
 times." 
 
 " She has no business to scold thee, and I will 
 not have thee scolded by anyone." 
 
 " Moeder, I scold her back, and she laughs, 
 and then I laugh; and so we are friends, more so 
 than ever. Ladarine is so English, moeder, 
 yet she always loses patience with the Eng 
 lish." 
 
 "For what, then?" 
 
 " She says they are so easy to tell in foreign 
 countries, because they never have the knack of 
 making themselves at home. There are only two 
 or three Dutch families in Gravesend, and they 
 are so friendly and sociable. You could tell their 
 houses were Dutch if you never went inside them ;
 
 118 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 they are so homelike, and they are so satisfied 
 with them." 
 
 " Did Captain Schofield spend much time with 
 you?" 
 
 " He came to dinner twice that was all." 
 
 "And what of Lord Mclvar? " 
 
 " He left the ship when we reached Gravesend, 
 and he did not go back to her, until she was ready 
 to sail." 
 
 " Then you were in his company a great deal ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "What do you think of him?" 
 
 " He was good company. We went on the ice. 
 He is a good skater." 
 
 " What did he talk about? " 
 
 " He talked much about himself, and what he 
 was going to do. Here comes fader ! I will open 
 the door for him," and away she sped, leaving the 
 question practically unanswered. 
 
 There was no opportunity to ask it again that 
 evening, and before morning Agratha had made up 
 her mind to be frank with her mother concerning 
 Lord Mclvar, and perhaps perhaps also about 
 her conviction of some strong intimacy between 
 Lord Mclvar and their bondman, Gus. This 
 latter question, however, was not definitely de 
 cided. She left it to circumstances and to that 
 motive power, which may often be more safely 
 trusted than any of our own pre-arranged words 
 or plans.
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 119 
 
 In a great measure she was ruled by the fact 
 that it was Lord Mclvar's secret, and she knew 
 not how the divulging of it might affect him. He 
 had not told her anything, yet she thought he 
 must have seen or suspected some intimate rela 
 tion between himself and their bondman. Love 
 ripens a character quickly, and Agratha found 
 herself debating circumstances, which, a month 
 previous, she would have carried without doubt 
 or question to her mother. 
 
 Some time passed before Madame found an 
 other opportunity to interrogate her daughter 
 about Lord Mclvar. Agratha's ready avoidance 
 of the subject on the night of her return had 
 made her cautious. She could see that the child 
 had become a woman, and she was sure that Love, 
 and only Love, could have effected such a rapid 
 transformation. A voluntary confidence was 
 what she desired, and sooner or later she felt sure 
 it would come. 
 
 It came one afternoon about two weeks after 
 Agratha's return from Gravesend. They were 
 sitting alone, and no company could be expected, 
 for a great wind, accompanied by heavy rain 
 was driving everyone off the streets. They were 
 both sewing and had been, in a fitful way, talking 
 of the current household and social news. But 
 the heaviness of the middle of the day was over 
 them, and their conversation trailed off into syl 
 lables and finally into silence. Madame Van Ruy-
 
 120 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 ven lifted her head and looked at her daughter. 
 Her face was still, and she had an absent look, as 
 if her thoughts were roaming far away. 
 
 " You left all your good spirits at Gravesend, 
 Agratha," she said. " You are not like the 
 merry girl I sent there, not one month gone by. 
 What is the matter with my daughter? Is she 
 sick? " 
 
 " No, moeder, I am well." 
 
 " Then why art thou so silent, so cast down? 
 Thou makes my heart to ache for thee." 
 
 " Moeder, I will tell thee. Lord Mclvar has 
 gone away. He has gone for two years, and I 
 feel as if there was no pleasure in the world for 
 me. He is a long way off, and yet he makes me 
 miserable. I wish that I had never seen him." 
 
 " Perhaps then, he is also miserable. Would 
 thou like that? " 
 
 " Yes, he might then come back to New Am 
 sterdam." 
 
 " Is it thy will that he should come back ? 
 Thou said thou wast sorry thou had ever seen 
 him." 
 
 " That is because I cannot always see him. 
 Moeder! moeder! he said he loved me, he said he 
 loved me more than his life. He said in two years 
 he would come again, and ask my fader and thee 
 to let him make me his wife. Two years! That 
 is such a long time. He will forget. I know he 
 will forget."
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 
 
 " He will not forget thee, but thy fader will 
 never allow that thou should be married on him. 
 Never ! Thou must try and forget him." 
 
 " I will not forget him. Moeder, the poor 
 young man cannot help that he was born in Scot 
 land. Why should he be made to suffer because 
 God did not choose New Amsterdam for his birth 
 place? He is so good, moeder, even Ladarene 
 can find no fault in him except that he goes to 
 the English church." 
 
 " Well then, that only would be fault enough 
 for thy fader. He cannot put up with Luther 
 ans. Only last week, when Hoag and Company 
 failed, he said it was because they had a Lutheran 
 bookkeeper. For this he thought they deserved 
 to fail. He was not sorry for them." 
 
 " Moeder, I think you liked Gael." 
 
 "Gael!" 
 
 " Yes, moeder, he begged me to call him Gael. 
 You liked him, moeder? " 
 
 " I saw no harm in him. He was a nice, cheer 
 ful boy; and Lady Moody tells me that he is 
 rich, and will have much Court favour when the 
 King comes back again." 
 
 " I think not of such things, moeder." 
 
 " So then thy fader and moeder must think for 
 thee. Listen to me once. Thou must do thy 
 best way to forget him, that is the wise thing to 
 do, but if thou cannot forget him, then thou must 
 be preparing thyself to mingle with lords and
 
 122 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 ladies in such fashion that he will not be ashamed 
 of thee. Thou must go to London, or the Hague, 
 and learn all that noble women learn. That Do- 
 mine at the Fort, what can he teach thee that a 
 woman in a court ought to know? " 
 
 " Many things, moeder, he can teach me his 
 tory and geography, and he has made me a good 
 reader and writer, and taught me many beautiful 
 pieces of poetry. Sometimes I say the poetry to 
 my fader in the evenings when thou art busy 
 and fader likes it." 
 
 " To be sure ! Thy fader has been at the Ley- 
 den University. When women go there, I sup 
 pose they also will like poetry. As it is, I get 
 plenty of poetry at the Kirk every Sabbath. I 
 do not care for it." 
 
 " Moeder, I would like to go to a London 
 school. I have heard Bessie Allerton talk about 
 London. Wilt thou go with me? I could not 
 go alone." 
 
 " Perhaps both I and thy fader may go with 
 thee. Many years thy fader has been talking of 
 a visit to our old home in Holland, and Holland 
 is not far from England. Now then, talk to me 
 of thy heartache. I know what that pain is. 
 When I was thy age, I loved, and there was no 
 good luck for my love. But very soon thy fader 
 came, and the Other Love is only like a little light 
 in my memory. If we go to Holland, I shall see 
 him, and he will perhaps be just like other men
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 
 
 maybe poor, or cross, or disagreeable. I am 
 sure he will have forgotten me, and when I say 
 4 Carel E verson, is all well with thee ? ' he will stare 
 and wonder, and then be ashamed to say, * I don't 
 know thee, Madame. What is it thou wants with 
 me? ' That is one of the ways of Love, Agratha. 
 No one can tell how any love affair will turn out." 
 
 "Well then, moeder, what more?" 
 
 " Keep thy heart for the man who will be thy 
 husband. All the love in it thou wilt need to live 
 with any man, and see his foolishness, and bear 
 his tempers week after week, and year after year." 
 
 " Dear moeder, I will do all you say. I am glad 
 I told you about Lord Mclvar. Now my heart 
 is light again." 
 
 " And thou wilt be moeder's cheerful, obedient 
 daughter? " 
 
 " If I was not obedient to thee, moeder, how 
 could I be obedient to God? And then!" 
 
 " Then all would go wrong in thy life." 
 
 But Agratha did not yet confide to her moeder 
 the secret understanding between Lord Mclvar 
 and Gus. Something she did not understand held 
 her back. It became unpleasant to think of the 
 matter and now that her mother had supplied 
 her imagination with new subjects for specula 
 tion, she let the circumstance slip from her mind, 
 and spent her thoughts upon the probabilities of 
 the London school, and the likelihood of Mclvar 
 seeing her in London.
 
 124 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 After this confidence Agratha was much hap 
 pier. Madame encouraged conversation about 
 her lover, and the school question, and she gradu 
 ally talked herself into a hopeful and expectant 
 mood. But Agratha could not reckon with events 
 over which no one in New Netherland had any 
 control. The new city was hardly organised be 
 fore it was filled with rumours of war. Cromwell 
 had just been made Protector, and there was 
 every reason to believe the war between England 
 and Holland would be pushed to extremities. 
 Stuyvesant had already written to the authorities 
 in New England and Virginia, proposing that 
 such a war should not interrupt their commercial 
 intercourse. But the answers he received had a 
 tone of evasion, and he was convinced that Massa 
 chusetts was preparing to co-operate with the 
 English forces when they arrived. Van Ruyven 
 brought the news home one evening about the 
 middle of March. 
 
 " What say you to this ? " he cried. " Eng 
 land is sending a large fleet to America, and those 
 New England hypocrites are working night and 
 day to increase it. In my judgment we shall 
 have war before the summer is over. For some 
 while back, I have been telling our people they 
 were feasting our known enemies. Would they 
 mind me? They would not. Yet I say this, and 
 it is the truth trusting the English is like trust 
 ing the cream with the cat."
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 125 
 
 "If war is sure, Paul, why has not the Com 
 pany sent men and arms to protect us ? " asked 
 Madame. " They know well what England is do 
 ing, and if they thought war was certain, surely 
 they would send help to hold their own. War! 
 Paul, I believe it not." 
 
 " There has been little business done to-day, 
 Ragel. The stores are full of anxious men. 
 many of them have valuable cargoes at sea that 
 is my case and on the streets white-faced men 
 and women are listening with open mouths to any 
 dreadful rumour they get hold of. The city is 
 to be fortified, and out must come our purses, as 
 well as our muskets ; but those damnable, desolat 
 ing English shall have a stubborn fight, if they do 
 come. If they see people living in peace and 
 quiet and making a little money, then they blow 
 their war trumpets and cry, ' Thy land is ours ! ' " 
 
 " Paul, thou must keep thyself in thy good 
 senses. Many responsibilities are thine, wife and 
 children, home and business. Let the young men 
 bluster if it please them ; I want thee to say noth 
 ing and to take a step at a time, as seems wise 
 to thee. Why should thou go out to meet 
 trouble? For my part, I believe not in any Eng 
 lish coming here to fight us." 
 
 However, Stuyvesant believed it. He called 
 a meeting of the Council and the City Fathers, 
 and they agreed to put Fort Amsterdam in a 
 proper state of defence, at the cost of the city.
 
 126 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Forty of the principal men in New Amsterdam 
 subscribed a sum of two thousand dollars, but this 
 donation did not exempt them from actual 
 labour. All able-bodied men were required to 
 leave their business, and work on the ditch and 
 palisades surrounding the city, and the next 
 morning Ragel watched her husband pass his house 
 with pick and shovel over his shoulders, and felt 
 very indignant. 
 
 *' It is all talk," she said scornfully to Agra- 
 tha, " and if it is not all talk, then the West India 
 Company ought to protect us. It is not our place 
 to fight for the Company, no, indeed! All we 
 make, they tithe, and a little thing it would be 
 for them to send men and arms to defend what 
 they call their own." 
 
 " I am so sorry, moeder." 
 
 " Thou may well be sorry, for it will put a stop 
 to our going to London this year. However," 
 she added with a smile of satisfaction, " Schepen 
 Johannes de Peyster has had to humble himself a 
 little, for I saw him on the march with the rest 
 of the shovel and spade company. That did me 
 some good, for I like to see pride brought low, 
 and De Peyster is the proudest man in America." 
 
 " Well then, moeder, he is so handsome, and so 
 rich, and his house is so big, and his dress so 
 fine." 
 
 " To be sure ! And I tell you, Agratha, when 
 he wears his full dress wig, and his full dress coat,
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 127 
 
 and his full dress smile, he makes me long for 
 something disagreeable to happen a waterspout 
 or a whirlwind, or anything that would drive His 
 Superiority out of my sight." 
 
 " He is a nice man, moeder, and I dare say he 
 never did any work in his life." 
 
 " I am not against him working now. Let him 
 learn how to use a pick and shovel. It is good 
 for him. But oh, Agratha ! how the rag-tag and 
 bob-tail company with which he had to walk must 
 have sickened and humbled his proud stomach ! '* 
 
 " Many good, brave men were walking in that 
 same company, moeder. My fader " 
 
 " Thy fader, in ten thousand ways is ten thou 
 sand times a better man than Johannes de Pey- 
 ster. Nature went about some full work when 
 she made thy fader. I can tell thee that. Well 
 then, at half past ten and at half past three, 
 Gus must take thy fader some Sopus beer and 
 cold meat and bread. And I hope all the men 
 working will have wives as thoughtful of their 
 husbands as Ragel Van Ruyven." 
 
 So the weary weeks passed in constant working 
 and watching, but during them Stuyvesant gained 
 a respect never before given him. When he 
 walked day after day in front of the gentlemen 
 labourers, sedate and dignified he looked, and he 
 acted the military chief of affairs. He knew the 
 manner of fortifications ; no one else did ; he could 
 give directions and orders, where the rest could
 
 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 only follow and obey. He seldom abused his au 
 thority, or made it contemptible by slavering pas 
 sions and vulgar obscenity. Stuyvesant was a 
 native and natural soldier, and when in military 
 authority was brave, clever and respectable. 
 Perhaps then it was the fault of circumstances 
 that in civil government he was despised, and 
 also accused of degrading lapses from justice and 
 honour. For we must remember, that the tre 
 mendous duties proper to men of the sword are 
 by no means suitable to the Council Chamber or 
 the Business Exchange; and that history records 
 few examples of great soldiers who were also great 
 statesmen, or civil rulers. Such cases as come 
 readily to mind, like Julius Caesar, King Alfred, 
 and especially Oliver Cromwell, are but the grand 
 exceptions proving the general rule. 
 
 In the middle of April public anxiety was so 
 great that a general humiliation and fast was 
 observed, and by June there was actual insurrec 
 tion among the English villages on Long Island. 
 However, on the second of June, the battle that 
 seemed imminent in New Netherland was fought 
 in the narrow seas dividing England and Hol 
 land. Stuyvesant was, however, unaware of this 
 engagement, and sent Allard Anthony to Holland 
 to represent the condition of affairs to the Am 
 sterdam Chamber. 
 
 In the meantime, the flame of patriotism that 
 had fired all men at the first whisper of war, had
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 129 
 
 waned in a manner that was most irritating to 
 Stuyvesant. The opinions Ragel had so frankly 
 expressed, had become the opinions of the major 
 ity, and when Stuyvesant in July called upon the 
 city for more money to continue the fortifications, 
 the burgomasters peremptorily refused to con 
 tribute a stiver, unless Stuyvesant gave up the 
 excise on wines and beers. 
 
 It was hard for a soldier to endure such luke 
 warm patriots, and we may well excuse and even 
 admire the temper in which he invited a dozen 
 of the principal men in New Amsterdam to dine 
 with him on a hot, sunny afternoon towards the 
 end of August. A stranger sat at his right hand 
 whom he introduced in a general way as his friend 
 Mynheer Suydam, who had just arrived from 
 London, bringing with him the last news letters 
 and papers. And after all had been refreshed, 
 and the wine was opening men's hearts and mouths, 
 Stuyvesant said: 
 
 " Gentlemen, our friend Mynheer Suydam, has 
 brought us good news, inasmuch as he assures us 
 of no war in America, just yet, and perhaps not 
 at all. You are not going to be troubled in your 
 business, and for all I see, you may eat and sleep 
 and smoke with all the leisure you find so com 
 fortable. There has been a fight with the Eng 
 lish, and such a fight as the Lord Mighty in bat 
 tle, and all the hosts of his angels, must have joyed 
 to see. For it is His will that we should set our
 
 130 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 teeth and fight for the land which he has given 
 us. So then we will listen to what Mynheer Suy- 
 dam will read us from the official account of the 
 engagement." 
 
 Then Suydam rose and said : " Gentlemen, this 
 is the true account. It kept all the coffee houses 
 in London ablaze and shouting the night through 
 and on the next Sabbath, it was read from every 
 pulpit amid Te Deums and Thanksgivings." 
 
 There was a curious look of mystification on 
 the faces of the guests, and on Stuyvesant's a 
 mingling of many opposite emotions, but all 
 tinged with a faint contempt. " We are listen 
 ing, Mynheer," he said courteously, and he re 
 filled his glass and quietly passed the bottle. 
 
 So Suydam straightened out the broadside in 
 his hand, and read aloud: 
 
 " Monk and Dean were cruising with a portion 
 of the English fleet between North Foreland and 
 Nieuport. Blake was on the Northern coast. 
 Van Tromp decided to engage the fleet, separated 
 from their great admiral. The battle continued 
 all through the second day of June. Dean had 
 been killed by a cannon shot at the first broad 
 side, and when night separated the combatants, 
 each of the fleets was sorely crippled. The ac 
 tion recommenced on the third. On that morn 
 ing the sound of cannon from the North told 
 Monk the welcome news that the Sea King was at 
 hand. Soon after Blake's ships appeared, and
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 131 
 
 broke through the Dutch line. Van Tromp fought 
 with desperation. His ship, the Brederod, was 
 boarded by the crew of the English flag ship y 
 James, after they had repulsed Van Tromp's 
 boarders. The Dutch admiral resolved not to 
 be a prisoner, and he threw a lighted match into 
 his own powder magazine. The explosion blew 
 up the deck, but he escaped and renewed the bat 
 tle in a frigate. At last he was compelled to 
 retreat, leaving with the English eleven vessels, 
 and thirteen hundred and fifty prisoners." 
 
 The news was received with a low murmur of 
 anger, and John Deventer said sternly : " Gov 
 ernor, I see nothing in this news to rejoice over. 
 No, indeed!" 
 
 " Then I am sorry for you, gentlemen ; you 
 must be blind as bats," answered Stuyvesant. 
 " At any rate, if you can do nothing else, you 
 can shout for the brave Van Tromp ! " and with 
 his mighty voice, he led a cheer for Van Tromp 
 that filled the Fort with its triumph. 
 
 " Let the English have the ships ! " he cried, 
 " we have Van Tromp ! Why, gentlemen, it is 
 said Blake and his sailor men watched him breath 
 lessly, swimming to the nearest frigate, and when 
 he boarded her and took command of the battle 
 again, they cheered him above the roar of can 
 non. For brave men know and honour brave men. 
 And by all that is holy, I swear that if great and 
 good deeds are done by men of any race, or any;
 
 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 nation, great and good men do them. One more 
 cheer for Van Tromp, gentlemen ! " 
 
 No one appeared willing to raise the cheer, and 
 there was a few moments' silence. Then Mynheer 
 Suydam said, " Governor, I cheer with you ! " and 
 Stuyvesant answered, " Brother, I thank you ! " 
 and again Stuyvesant raised his powerful voice, 
 and the cheer rose, slowly gathering strength as 
 it did so. While it was still ringing, Stuyvesant 
 with Mynheer Suydam bowed and left the room. 
 
 Then the company rapidly dispersed. They 
 were anxious to get outside the precincts of the 
 Fort, and discuss the affair. They had been led, 
 almost against their will, into cheering a great 
 Dutch disaster, and they did not see, as Stuyves 
 ant did, the tremendous moral victory Van Tromp 
 had gained. Moreover, they were puzzled by 
 Stuyvesant's declaration that " the glory of a 
 nation, though a great thing, was not as great 
 as the glory of its humanity." 
 
 '* He talked some nonsense this afternoon," 
 said Abraham Blankaert. 
 
 " He talked like the Domine," said Philip Wol- 
 fert, " and I have heard say he did some studying 
 for the pulpit." 
 
 "What is talk worth?" asked Jacob Styvart. 
 *' We have lost some ships eleven big men of 
 war. Think of that, brothers." 
 
 "Think also," said Martin Snyder, "that if 
 we have lost eleven big ships, we have saved Van
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 133 
 
 Tromp. Would we any of us be willing to let 
 the English get him for eleven big ships? No. 
 Then we have the best of it. Plenty more ships 
 we can build, but as for Van Tromp he is a man 
 by himself. We did well to cheer, I say that." 
 
 This circumstance supplied the little city with 
 conversation for a long time. It grew in im 
 portance, and men quarrelled about it, both on the 
 streets and in their homes. The Van Ruyvens 
 did not escape its influence. Paul Van Ruyven 
 had been in his youth a classical student, he was 
 touched by Stuyvesant's attitude, and comparing 
 Van Tromp's action with the great patriotic deeds 
 f antiquity, he found it superior to all. Agratha 
 took with enthusiasm her father's view, both of 
 Stuyvesant and Van Tromp, but Ragel was pro- 
 vokingly indifferent. 
 
 " Van Tromp is a fighter by trade," she said, 
 " and boarding and blowing up ships is in his con 
 tract. When Dr. Campbell went to that case of 
 smallpox, he took his life in his hand, but nobody; 
 went mad about Dr. Campbell doing his duty. 
 For my part I can find no good sense in blowing 
 up a ship full of men." 
 
 " It was a great and good deed, Ragel, and 
 Stuyvesant thought and said so." 
 
 " Stuyvesant ! " she cried scornfully. " All 
 Stuyvesant's great and good men are soldiers." 
 
 " His stand by Van Tromp's defeat was a fine 
 lesson to the English and others."
 
 " The English do not need the lesson not 
 they. Often thou hast said they always go for 
 the under dog in the fight. The French smile 
 and shrug, and pay some compliments. They, 
 admire any foolish, reckless thing. The Scotch 
 are shocked at the waste of property and life. 
 I know! I have heard half a dozen women talk 
 ing, and they always say what their husbands 
 teach them." 
 
 " They are good women and good wives," said 
 .Van Ruyven. 
 
 " They may be. God knows." 
 
 " And Scotch men are good fighters," he con 
 tinued. 
 
 " They may be. God knows. I know they 
 don't like fighting on water, it is too moveable 
 and uncertain, and they don't like fighting with 
 gunpowder, it is too responsive to defeat and 
 bad temper. Hector McAslin told me they want 
 a hillside and a fixed bayonet. He said he would 
 not put his trust in anything but cold steel, and 
 that cold steel held in his own hand." 
 
 " Generally speaking, I stand with thee, Ragel, 
 but in this case I stand with Stuyvesant." 
 
 " Well then, I think very little of thy stand 
 ing. For I take leave to say and well thou 
 knowest I speak the truth that Stuyvesant's 
 shout for Van Tromp's defeat was just to shame 
 the men who thought the tax on their beer of more 
 consequence than the safety of their city."
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 135 
 
 In this kind of restlessness and dissatisfaction 
 the weeks and months passed. Nothing was cer 
 tain but the discontent of the people with their 
 Governor, and this feeling rose to such a height 
 that in the month of December a great popular 
 meeting was held in New Amsterdam to consider 
 their grievances. To this meeting Brooklyn, 
 Flatbush, Flatlands, Gravesend, Newton, Flush 
 ing and Hempstead sent representatives, earnest 
 and liberty-loving men. They demanded only 
 what had been promised them the laws and privi 
 leges of their Fatherland. Stuyvesant winced 
 under the oppressions laid before him, but he 
 made neither excuses nor promises. 
 
 " Let the men of Brooklyn, Flatbush and Flat- 
 lands go back to their homes," he cried angrily. 
 " They have no right here. They have no juris 
 diction here. They cannot send delegates to any 
 popular assembly. I will not have such doings. 
 I will not ! It is treason ! Treason ! and nothing 
 short of it." 
 
 " Governor Stuyvesant, we respectfully ask 
 that the grievances just shown you be redressed," 
 said James Hubbard. 
 
 " Fools ! Idiots ! Do you not know that those 
 two words, ' grievances redressed,' always please 
 the mob, and always cheat them? While Peter 
 Stuyvesant is Governor of New Netherland, there 
 will be no mob rule in politics. God knows the 
 next thing would be mob rule in religion, and the
 
 136 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 city would be overrun by Quakers and Baptists, 
 Jews and Lutherans, and the devil's own brood 
 of every name. It shall not so be! I will not 
 permit it! Peter Stuyvesant will not permit it! 
 My office would indeed be a despicable thing, if 
 a rabble like this could make and unmake laws and 
 rulers. Your grievances are a pack of lies, and 
 you are sap-headed fools to complain of them." 
 
 " Governor Stuyvesant ! " said Captain John 
 Underbill, " we are respectable citizens, and 
 not a rabble. We are thoughtful, earnest men, 
 and not idiots and sap-headed fools, and our 
 grievances must be attended to, or we will know, 
 the reason why." 
 
 " Captain Underbill ! " shouted Stuyvesant, 
 rising to his feet and striking the table passion 
 ately, " Captain Underbill, I know well that this 
 meeting is your doing. Go to your home, and 
 keep quiet and behave yourself, or you will soon 
 be in a much worse place. And you and every 
 other person present may learn now, and for all 
 future time, that I derive my authority from God 
 and the Company, not from a few ignorant sub 
 jects, and that I, Peter Stuyvesant, and I alone, 
 can call the inhabitants of this colony together. 
 And I advise you all to let my just and lawful 
 authority stand between you and rebellion." Then 
 in ringing tones that smote men's ears like a lash, 
 he shouted, " I command this delegation to dis 
 perse on the pain of my highest displeasure ! "
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 137 
 
 " Governor," answered James Hubbard, " we 
 obey your commands." Then facing the dele 
 gates, he continued: "Friends and neighbours, I 
 will give you a word from above, to think on as you 
 go to your homes," and he spoke with a distinct; 
 and almost inspired intonation as follows: 
 
 66 And the Lord said unto Moses, ' wherefore 
 criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children 
 of Israel that they go forward.' " 
 
 So in a tumult of indignant speech, the assem 
 bly broke up. Stuyvesant appeared indifferent, 
 but the advice of Hubbard was immediately fol 
 lowed. The Gravesend magistrates wrote to the 
 States General, Martin Creiger, George Baxter 
 and fifty others appealed to the burgomasters and 
 schepens of the City of Amsterdam, and an ear 
 nest general petition was sent to the West India 
 Company. The underhand policy of the Com 
 pany may be learned from one sentence in the 
 letter which they sent to Stuyvesant at this time : 
 " You must act with more vigour, and punish re 
 fractory subjects as they deserve. Enforce your 
 authority, so that these men no longer indulge the 
 visionary dream that contributions cannot be 
 levied without their consent." Numberless small 
 annoyances arose constantly from these condi 
 tions to embarrass the Governor, and if he had 
 been a man of less firmness and decision of char 
 acter, he must have utterly failed to carry on the 
 government.
 
 138 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Fortunately Christmas was approaching, and 
 the city forgot its grievances in the joy of its 
 preparation for the feast. For Christmas was 
 in New Amsterdam a very great and happy event ; 
 so much so, that the Common Council interdicted 
 all ordinary meetings of the board between De 
 cember the fourteenth and three weeks after 
 Christmas also directing the Court Messenger 
 " not to summon any person in the meantime." 
 As a general thing all political wrongs and all 
 private animosities were forgotten, and for five 
 or six weeks New Amsterdam gave itself freely to 
 feasting, dancing, skating, and unstinted hospi 
 tality. 
 
 On the twenty-second of December, Agratha, 
 having finished the decoration of her own home, 
 started early for the Fort, in order to assist 
 Madame Bayard in beautifying its gloomy pre 
 cincts. She promised her mother to return home 
 early, but the day wore on and Agratha did not 
 return. When it was four o'clock, the mother 
 became uneasy, and she was just about to send 
 Gus to the Fort to make inquiries, when the girl, 
 rosy with the frosty air, and eager and glad with 
 the news she brought, returned. 
 
 " Oh moedcr, moeder ! " she cried j oyf ully, " I 
 have had such a happy day." 
 
 " Well then, thou hast made it a long day. I 
 was uneasy about thee." 
 
 " I will tell thee, moeder, and thou also will be
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 139 
 
 glad ; so strange ; so unexpected ! I never hoped ! 
 I never thought of such a good thing." 
 
 She was untying her hood and cloak with quick, 
 nervous fingers as she spoke, and she flung them 
 carelessly down on a chair near at hand. " Sit 
 quiet a little while, moeder, it will be so pleasant 
 to tell thee what has happened." 
 
 "Well then?" 
 
 " When I got to the Fort this morning, the. 
 Governor and Madame Stuyvesant were sitting 
 with Lady Moody and a strange woman, and they 
 seemed very happy." 
 
 " A strange woman ! What kind of a woman ? 
 How old was she? " 
 
 " I think as old as Wim's wife ; she says she is 
 twenty-seven. She came from Canada. She 
 could not bear the cold there." 
 
 " No wonder ! Is she a Canadian? " 
 
 " Indeed she is not ; she is either English 
 or French. She speaks both languages per 
 fectly." 
 
 " Then what in heaven or earth took her to 
 Canada? " 
 
 " She went there with an officer's family as gov 
 erness to their children and the children could not 
 bear the cold, and so she brought them to their 
 aunt in Boston. Then she resolved to come still 
 further south, and several people who had known 
 Lady Moody when she lived in Boston, gave her 
 letters of introduction to Lady Moody. She
 
 140 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 came to New Amsterdam two weeks ago, and so 
 direct to Gravesend, where she has been resting 
 herself until yesterday. Then she came with 
 Lady Moody to the Stillwells', and at the Still- 
 wells' she will spend Christmas." 
 
 " All this is very fine, Agratha, but as to the 
 truth of it, who knows ? " 
 
 " The Governor. He had a letter from the 
 Colonel of the Canadian regiment, and in it he 
 said many good things of the stranger. Also he 
 asked him to be kind to her and give her assist 
 ance in any way he could and so." 
 
 " I never heard anything like it." 
 
 " Now she is going to remain in New Amster 
 dam and open a school here for young ladies, 
 like me." 
 
 " And pray, what can she teach thee? " 
 
 " Many things, moeder, that I want to learn 
 to speak the French, to play on the Spanish 
 mandolin, to read music as I read a book." 
 
 " And she can teach thee these things ? " 
 
 " These and many other things, moeder, all the 
 new embroideries, tatting and tambour work. 
 She can teach also the Court courtesy, and the 
 proper manner of entering and leaving a room 
 the newest French and Spanish dances and 
 moeder, Lady Moody says she can make the fash 
 ionable hoods and hats and stomachers, and also 
 show us how to dress our hair in all the fashion 
 able ways now in use."
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 141 
 
 " I think she knows too much. Where could 
 she have learned all these things ? " 
 
 " In the French convents and the London 
 schools ; and moeder, out of thin sheets of white 
 and colored wax, she can make flowers that look 
 as if you pulled them out of the garden." 
 
 " Tell me no more, Agratha. I will not be 
 lieve that any woman can do so many fine things. 
 And if thou wants to learn this, or that, from 
 this stranger, name not in thy fader's presence, 
 French convents. He will not believe that any 
 thing but evil could come out of them. London 
 schools are different, we have spoken of them al 
 ready for thee." 
 
 " If you could have seen her dress the dingy 
 rooms, moeder. So quick, so sure, went her fin 
 gers. It was like a miracle. Such garlands ! 
 Such stars and crosses! She had brought some 
 wax with her, and she made mistletoe boughs, and 
 pink rosebuds, and cut little English daisies out 
 of white paper, and put them among the green 
 leaves; and, oh moeder, the old Fort is beyond 
 everything! Even the governor stayed to watch 
 her, and she told him that on Christmas morning 
 he must order his soldiers to stack arms in the 
 court, and she would make garlands of laurel 
 leaves and lilies to throw over them. And the 
 Governor shouted with pleasure, and so it will 
 be." 
 
 " What is the name of this wonder? "
 
 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Her name is Finlay, but Lady Moody called 
 her Rose." 
 
 " Is she going to take a house ? Where will 
 she keep her school? " 
 
 "Much talk was on that subject. Madame 
 Stuyvesant thought she had better take a floor in 
 some respectable house, and she spoke of Mrs. 
 Van Dam. You know, moeder, Mrs. Van Dam is 
 poor, and Madame thought she would be glad to 
 rent a floor in her big house. That would be a 
 great thing for Elsie Van Dam. Moeder, I prom 
 ised if you would let me, to take Miss Finlay to 
 Mrs. Van Dam's in the morning." 
 
 " I will not let thee do anything of the kind. 
 Why should Agratha Van Ruyven go about with 
 a strange women who wants rooms, and who in 
 tends to keep a school? Thy fader would be very 
 angry." 
 
 " I am so sorry. She is so sweet and clever. 
 And she has no friends here." 
 
 " Well then, she ought not to have left her 
 friends." 
 
 " Perhaps, moeder, she had none to leave 
 perhaps they were all dead. Her fader was an 
 officer, and died on the battlefield. Madame Stuy 
 vesant told me so." 
 
 " That may be. I know not. Thou must tell * 
 thy fader all this story, and see what he says. 
 He will know what thou ought to do." 
 
 " Moeder, you must help me ; fader will do in
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 143 
 
 the long run all you say. And I want to learn 
 everything Miss Finlay can teach me. I want to 
 be a clever woman, the same as she is. Yes, 
 moeder, let me have my wish." 
 
 " That is nonsense. There is no need for thee 
 to be a clever woman. Thy fader is a rich man, 
 and there may be money coming in some other 
 ways to thee. Perhaps thou may be a rich 
 
 woman. 
 
 M 
 
 Art thou thinking of Lord Mclvar ? " 
 
 " Well then, suppose I was ? " 
 
 " It would be wiser not to think of him. Since 
 he went away he has forgotten me." 
 
 " Thou art mistaken. He will never forget 
 thee." 
 
 At this moment Paul Van Ruyven opened the 
 door. He brought the spirit of Christmas in 
 with him ; he looked ten years younger than usual. 
 And as he ate his supper he listened to Agratha's 
 story with interest, but without enthusiasm. He 
 was wondering all the time how much of it was 
 true, and for what purpose the woman, friend 
 less and alone, had come to New Amsterdam. Her 
 reasons were plausible, but not convincing. 
 Madame perceived his doubts at once, and asked: 
 
 " Art thou thinking Miss Finlay has not told 
 us the truth, Paul? " 
 
 " No, I believe what she says is the truth, but 
 I think there is some more truth behind what she 
 has told."
 
 144 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " The Governor and Madame seem to be quite 
 satisfied." 
 
 " The Governor and Madame after all, are 
 mere mortals. That the woman spoke French 
 would be enough for Madame Stuyvesant, and her 
 clever fingers and clever advice to stack the arms 
 of the soldiers, and crown them with Christmas 
 symbols of peace and good-will, would be all Stuy 
 vesant would require. If she is as pretty, as well 
 as clever, then " 
 
 " I never thought of that. Is Miss Finlay 
 pretty, Agratha? " 
 
 " No, she is not pretty." 
 
 "Handsome, then? Tall and stately?" 
 
 " No, moeder. She does not look like Eliza 
 beth Anthony, or Lady Moody. She is not tall, 
 and not stately. She is small, and in her move 
 ments quick and graceful. Her hair is veryj 
 black, and fastened with an ivory comb. Her 
 face is sweet and pale, and her lips smiling; but, 
 oh moeder, her large black eyes are full of sorrow 
 and sadness. I could not bear to look into them. 
 If she was alone, I am sure she would neither speak 
 nor smile, and now and then she forgets herself 
 for a minute, then remembers and suddenly be 
 comes gay and laughing. I noticed these things, 
 because I felt so sorry for her." 
 
 " How was she dressed ? Was she shabby ? " 
 
 " Very well she was dressed, and you might at 
 once see that her frock and cloak had been made
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 145 
 
 in Paris. They were of dark blue cloth, and 
 quite plain so plain as Lady Moody's but they 
 fit her, and she has a beautiful figure. She is so 
 sweet and loveable. I am sure she will have many 
 scholars; and I hope, dear fader, Agratha may 
 be one of them." 
 
 Then Paul rose, and standing on the hearth 
 rug with his back to the fire, he drew his daughter 
 within his right arm. " Agratha," he said, " at 
 first you may take two studies with Miss Finlay 
 no more. When you are eighteen we intend to 
 take you to the Hague; at nineteen you will go 
 to Paris; at twenty to London, and soon after 
 your twenty-first birthday we shall bring you 
 back to New Amsterdam. Now then, what two 
 studies will you take? " 
 
 " The French language will be useful, if I am 
 to go to Paris." 
 
 " Just so. Learn French, then." 
 
 " And I would like to learn the mandolin. I 
 should soon be able to sing all the sings you love, 
 fader." 
 
 " Very well. That settles the matter. One 
 thing I tell thee women often love each other 
 foolishly. Be careful of thyself. Though this 
 Miss Finlay is young, well educated, and fashion 
 ably dressed, I think it likely she has had some 
 great sorrow. Now often I have heard the Do- 
 mine himself say that God so directs things, that 
 orthodoxy and a good life lead to happiness and
 
 146 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 wealth. So then, if a person is in trouble, it is 
 likely they have not cared properly for God and 
 His commandments ; and when people weep a great 
 deal, they are usually of a discontented temper. 
 We are a religious family, my Agratha. We 
 make no friends with Lutherans, or any other 
 schismatic, and if this strange woman is from 
 Paris, she may even be a papist." 
 
 " You think of everything, dear fader." 
 
 " That comes from my experienec, Agratha, 
 and where my principles are concerned, I am im- 
 moveable." 
 
 " Fader, can I go with Miss Finlay to Mrs. 
 Van Dam's to-morrow? She wishes to rent a floor 
 in her house." 
 
 " No." 
 
 " But why not, fader? " 
 
 " I do not think it respectable for thee to do 
 so. Take thy lessons, and I will pay the price. 
 Perhaps, however, there may be no lessons. Who 
 knows how New Amsterdam may receive the young 
 woman? " 
 
 " Lady Moody " 
 
 " Well then, Lady Moody is not omnipotent." 
 
 " The Governor " 
 
 " Never pleases anyone, no matter what he 
 does." 
 
 " Then he ought to please himself," said Agra 
 tha, with some temper. 
 
 " He does, he always has done, and if God Al-
 
 THUS RAN THEIR WORLD AWAY 147 
 
 mighty does not interfere, he always will 
 do." ' 
 
 Then Madame called in Gus to clear the table, 
 and so make the little confusion necessary to close 
 a conversation going too far. And she was a 
 trifled annoyed, because her daughter had not 
 shown that wisdom, or tact, which perceives the 
 right moment to end a subject. 
 
 A little later she pointed this out to Agratha. 
 " When thou hast got all that is likely, know 
 enough to stop asking," she said. " Wait till this 
 strange woman redeems her promises, then try 
 again." 
 
 " I shall be wasting time, moeder." 
 
 " Other things also can be wasted. Be con 
 tent with what has been given thee. It is more 
 than I expected." 
 
 In a month, however, Miss Finlay had more 
 than redeemed her promises. She had the aris 
 tocracy of New Amsterdam at her feet. She had 
 classes for dancing and music, for needlework and 
 deportment, and a large class learning the mys 
 teries of making head coverings and stomachers, 
 and the secrets of hair dressing. In her own way 
 she dictated many social events, and when the 
 birthday of the city came round, on the second 
 of February, she carried out with marvellous 
 success a public reception, the startlingly large 
 proceeds of which were a birthday gift to the city's 
 poor.
 
 148 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 In this entertainment the very best citizens 
 took part. The handsome Jacob Kip and his 
 lovely fiancee danced a little Saracenic drama, 
 enlivened by castanets and a tambourine the 
 Anthonys, Van Cortlandts, De Peysters, Stillwells, 
 De Silles, and many others took part in the even 
 ing's amusement, which was opened with a minuet 
 by Councillor Van Ruyven and his daughter 
 Agratha. It called forth extravagant praises 
 and delight. Indeed, the handsome Van Ruyven 
 in full dress was a man any city might be proud 
 of, and when he stepped out with his beautiful 
 daughter, there was not only astonishment, but 
 unaffected pride and pleasure in their appear 
 ance, skill and grace. 
 
 This circumstance alone indicated how far 
 Miss Finlay had made good her promises in about 
 five weeks. " God has worked a miracle in my; 
 affairs," she said to Lady Moody on the morning 
 after the entertainment, but how great a miracle, 
 she did not then know, or even anticipate.
 
 CHAPTER SIX 
 
 THE BONDMAN 
 
 IF there was any Golden Age of the Dutch in 
 America, it was at this time. They were making 
 money rapidly, they had large, commodious 
 homes and gardens, they dressed splendidly, they, 
 ate and drank luxuriously, and their consciences 
 were comfortably at ease in Zion, since they be 
 lieved that all these good things were the result 
 of their precise obedience to the demands of the 
 old Reformed Dutch Church, bcause God so di 
 rected all affairs, that this obedience led to wealth. 
 
 Nothing troubled the burghers of New Am 
 sterdam but the tyranny of headstrong Peter ; and 
 as they fought it tooth and nail, it is likely they 
 found it a pleasant alternative to lives so steeped 
 in prosperity and satisfaction that they required 
 some annoyance to serve as salt or condiment to 
 their placid existence. At any rate, it kept their 
 better part awake and on the watch, and a meet 
 ing of the Town Council with Peter Stuyvesant 
 in the chair where he had no business to be 
 was a very stimulating affair, one that was gen 
 erally accepted and enjoyed by every city official. 
 
 For days after such a meeting, they were alert 
 149
 
 150 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 and active. They talked valiantly against Stuy- 
 vesant and his tyrannies and impositions, but they 
 did not for all their hard words dislike him. On 
 the contrary, they admired his tempers, and won 
 dered at his wealth of scurrilous, insulting, of 
 fensive, insolent reproaches and revilings, in 
 Latin and Dutch and English. 
 
 " You can bring no argument, however just, 
 which can stand the words in three languages that 
 he flings at it," said Van Winkle; " he stones it to 
 death with them." 
 
 " I should think not," answered Van Brunt. 
 " We all know what talkers the English are ; well 
 then, they are hoarse with barking at Stuyvesant, 
 and he minds nothing they say." 
 
 " He has the gift of impudence," explained 
 Jacob Snedecor, " and he may be thankful that 
 every man has not the like talent." 
 
 " Come, come, he is Dutch, he is our own. He 
 might help us yet." 
 
 " So he might, Van Winkle, if he was not so 
 busy helping himself." 
 
 " Well, then, Snedecor, there is no sin in a 
 man caring a little for himself. We must all fol 
 low the good example our Governor sets us," and 
 the little group laughed, and went each his way 
 to his own particular method of helping himself, 
 and not one of them in his heart thought hardly 
 of the autocratic Director Peter Stuyvesant. 
 
 To Agratha this was a very happy period. She
 
 THE BONDMAN 151 
 
 gave to Miss Finlay that great affection, which 
 good girls so frequently give to a teacher whom 
 they honour and admire; and to her new studies 
 the enthusiasm and delight of a willing student. 
 From the dumb strings to bring sweet music, that 
 in its turn drew from her heart the song lying 
 asleep there, was a kind of a miracle to the child 
 woman. She watched her fingers with a curious 
 pleasure, and when the song flew from her lips 
 she laughed aloud with joy. And almost equally 
 delightful was the sound of the strange tongue. 
 She chattered the simple phrases as she learned 
 them to her father and mother; and they praised 
 her cleverness, and both agreed that she might as 
 well as not join the sewing and embroidery class. 
 
 The attendance on this class was in the after 
 noons, and one day she stayed beyond its hours, 
 to finish a piece of work she wished to take home 
 with her. Quite unexpectedly it began to rain, 
 and in half an hour Gus came to the Van Dams' 
 house with a cloak and pattens for Agratha. 
 Hand in hand she went with Miss Finlay down 
 the stairs to the front hall, where Gus was wait 
 ing, and there, suddenly as a flash of lightning, 
 Rose Finlay threw up her hands and uttering an 
 unintelligible cry, fell to the floor. 
 
 Then Agratha's call of terror quickly brought 
 Madame Van Dam and her daughter Elsie. Rose 
 Finlay lay unconscious. Agratha knelt weeping 
 at her side, and Gus, having opened the door,
 
 152 A MAID OP OLD NEW YORK 
 
 leaned shivering against the lintel, his face as 
 white as that of a dead man. 
 
 " Run for a doctor," said Madame to Gus, and 
 no one, unless it was Agratha, noticed the Celtic 
 pathos of his face and figure, as he stumbled out 
 into the dim light and pouring rain. 
 
 Probably he met the doctor on the street, for 
 within ten minutes he was at Rose Finlay's side. 
 She was just recovering consciousness, and he 
 said to her: 
 
 " You have had a great fright." 
 
 Rose made a motion of denial. 
 
 " A great shock then?" 
 
 ** No," she whispered. 
 
 "What then?" 
 
 " I can't say." 
 
 " Where do you come from ? " 
 
 " The Hebrides." 
 
 " I thought so. Second sight, eh? " 
 
 " Perhaps." 
 
 " You must rest two or three days." 
 
 " No, there is no need." 
 
 " Take your own way then. You know.** 
 
 Yes." 
 
 " Come, Miss Van Ruyven. I will bring you 
 home in my gig. Your man is already there. I 
 sent him, for he was wet through and looked as 
 if he had seen a spirit. Queer. Very queer ! " 
 
 This event was discussed with much interest at 
 the Van Ruyven supper table. Men had no even-
 
 THE BONDMAN 158 
 
 ing papers in those days, and the gossip of the 
 city related by their woman reporters was a pretty 
 good substitute. Agratha described the affair 
 with faithful detail, and her father listened at 
 tentively, then he asked: 
 
 " Do you think Gus had anything to do with 
 that fainting fit ? " 
 
 "No, fader, nothing at all. How could he?" 
 
 " And it was not fright or shock? " 
 
 " She said it was not, fader." 
 
 " And the doctor called it Second Sight. What 
 did she say to that? " 
 
 " She said ' perhaps.* " 
 
 " Mind what I tell you, Agratha, there is no 
 such thing as Second Sight." 
 
 " Lady Moody told me that it is named in the 
 Holy Scriptures, fader." 
 
 " Lady Moody is wrong. It is not named hi 
 the Bible, or it would be named in the Creed and 
 the Catechism. Archie Campbell is a clever doc 
 tor, but he is clean mad about some things; yes 
 indeed, quite crazy." 
 
 " There is no need to bring the Holy Scrip 
 tures, or even Second Sight into a woman's faint 
 ing fit," said Ragel Van Ruyven scornfully; "ft 
 poor little mouse is enough. Last year, as Mary 
 Deventer was coming down stairs a mouse crossed 
 her foot, and she fainted and fell down stairs, 
 and broke her arm for a mouse ! " 
 
 " I feel sure you are right, moeder," said
 
 154 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Agratha. " What does make women afraid of a 
 mouse? " 
 
 Paul Van Ruyven laughed aloud. " It is their 
 way," he answered. " Mary Deventer is a timid 
 little woman afraid of a mouse, and Tom De- 
 venter is the biggest, strongest man in New Am 
 sterdam, yet Tom is afraid of Mary, and Mary is 
 not afraid of Tom, though she faints if a mouse 
 crosses her foot." 
 
 " Let me tell you, fader, that Tom Deventer 
 would faint if a mouse ran up his leg." 
 
 " No, he would not." 
 
 " Then he would have cursed, and stamped and 
 yelled like a man gone out of his good senses, and 
 the whole house would have been turned upside 
 down to find the little animal. It is decenter to 
 faint. It is what I should do." 
 
 " There are no mice strolling about the Van 
 Ruyven house," said Ragel Van Ruyven ; " if 
 there was, I should send a cat after them." 
 
 " Doctor Campbell has acted very foolishly," 
 said Van Ruyven. " He has given fainting a new 
 name, and every woman will have an attack of the 
 Second Sight. He must be advised on the mat 
 ter. I shall tell him to infer a little against its 
 morality and respectability." 
 
 " Oh no, dear fader, you must not do that. It 
 would injure Miss Finlay." 
 
 " Well then, Agratha, she should not introduce 
 such unnatural troubles."
 
 THE BONDMAN 155 
 
 " Bring the Scriptures, and call in the maids," 
 said Madame, " this conversation is unprofitable, 
 and not even interesting." 
 
 At the Fort on the following day, Agratha had 
 to tell the story over again, and the Governor 
 was just as angry with Doctor Campbell as Van 
 Ruyven had been. 
 
 " Second Sight ! " he cried with an angry scorn. 
 " Such snaffling, puddling folly ! I'll teach Camp 
 bell to stick to his pills and lancets. If he does 
 not, I will take his diploma from him." 
 
 " Peter," said Anna Bayard, " you cannot take 
 Doctor Campbell's diploma from him. He has 
 it from the University of Glasgow." 
 
 " Do I care for the University of Glasgow if 
 there is such a place? Glasgow is only a big 
 weaving shop. I don't believe in her University. 
 I shall take Campbell's diploma from him if he 
 invents any more irreligious, irrational, prepos 
 terous names for women to get sick under. Sec 
 ond Sight! Second Sight!" he shouted, "I'll 
 have no Second Sight in New Netherland ! " and 
 to this passionate declaration, he stamped out 
 of the room. 
 
 The women looked at each other, and Madame 
 Stuyvesant said, " My poor Peter ! He feels 
 everything so sharp, so strong! It is his way." 
 
 " There is no reason for him to .eel everything 
 as if it was the only thing in the world. It is a 
 bad way," said Madame Bayard.
 
 156 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Then Agratha, in a childish effort to divert a 
 dispute, reiterated her previous statement. " My 
 moeder thinks it was only a mouse that frightened 
 Miss Finlay." 
 
 " So I think also," replied Madame Stuyvesant. 
 
 " So I do not think," said Madame Bayard. 
 
 Neither did Agratha put any faith in the mouse 
 solution of Miss Finlay's illness. She had seen 
 that Gus in his way was as profoundly affected 
 as the woman, and she was certain that it was the 
 sudden sight of each other which had produced in 
 both consequences not to be denied. 
 
 Why then did she not tell her mother the con 
 viction in her heart? First, because she had not 
 told him about the unexplained condition between 
 Lord Mclvar and Gus. She had regarded it as 
 Lord Mclvar's secret inadvertently revealed to 
 her, and for his sake she had been absolutely si 
 lent concerning it. Who was this bondman, that 
 he should have an apparent intimacy with two 
 people so dissimilar, as the rich Scotch Lord, and 
 the poor daughter of a dead captain of infantry? 
 
 Then again, who was Lord Mclvar, that she 
 should carry this three-fold secret for his sake? 
 He was, she believed, her betrothed husband. He 
 had vowed to make her his wife as soon after he 
 came of age as it was possible to reach her. True, 
 no letter, or message, or token of remembrance 
 of any kind had come to her. But in spite of 
 this apparent neglect, she believed in the prom-
 
 THE BONDMAN 157 
 
 ises the handsome youth had kissed upon her lips, 
 that sad last day they had spent together. Com 
 munication by letter was difficult and doubtful in 
 those days; lovers had to trust each other, and 
 Agratha's guileless heart found it easy to trust. 
 
 After some days of hesitation, she resolved 
 rather to seek the confidence of Miss Finlay, than 
 reveal doubts and suspicions which might precip 
 itate some great disappointment or sorrow upon a 
 trio, two members of which were dear to her. 
 Also, she had that singular sense of honourable 
 obligation to silence, which only a heart as young 
 and unselfish would have regarded. Mclvar had 
 never asked her silence. He had trusted to her 
 affection divining that silence was necessary, and 
 to her discretion in keeping it. She felt this con 
 dition as well as if it had been explained to her 
 word by word, and she could not bear to fall be 
 low her lover's estimate of her nobility. 
 
 It was, however, impossible to reach any con 
 fidential conversation with Miss Finlay, though 
 Agratha was sure she understood her suspicions, 
 and was grateful for the easy indifference with 
 which she dismissed the subject, if anyone spoke 
 of her illness. In two days she resumed her teach 
 ing, and there was no change whatever in the si 
 lent, irresponsive behaviour of Gus. 
 
 During the months of July, August and Sep 
 tember, Miss Finlay remained with Lady Moody 
 at Gravesend, but in October she again opened her
 
 158 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 classes. It had been in New Amsterdam a hot, 
 troublesome summer. The Governor had had a 
 quarrel with the Swedish colony, and been 
 harassed continually by the Long Island villagers, 
 who may be said to have made insurrection their 
 normal temper. Early in November, Thomas 
 Pell, formerly gentleman of the Bed Chamber to 
 King Charles the First, bought from an Indian 
 sachem a large tract of land. Stuyvesant sent a 
 marshal to tell him that the land had already been 
 bought and paid for, and that he, Stuyvesant, 
 forbade Pell's transaction altogether. And Mr. 
 Thomas Pell paid not the slightest attention to 
 the Governor, but went on improving his new pos 
 session. At the same time, Gravesend, Flushing, 
 Hempstead, and other villages were in open revolt, 
 because Stuyvesant had refused to ratify the peo 
 ple in office, who had been chosen by the popular 
 vote. One morning he received a decided letter 
 from Lady Moody telling him he must come to 
 Gravesend and meet the leaders, and ratify the 
 public vote or take the consequences. 
 
 " And I know what the consequences will be," 
 he cried as he flung the letter passionately down, 
 " every mother's son on Long Island will be in open 
 rebellion. Then those chaffering, cheapening, 
 godly, Bible-reading Massachusetts English, will 
 come pouring down from the North. Hartford 
 and Connecticut will send deputies to me, and 
 powder and shot to the rebels. The southern set-
 
 THE BONDMAN 159 
 
 tlements will bluster about the rights of English 
 men, and send all their vagabonds to Long Island ; 
 and the Company whose property I am told to 
 protect leaves me with scant ammunition and only 
 a handful of men. It is the Company that must 
 take the consequences. God's will be done! Let 
 the Company take them." 
 
 " Peter, Peter, why are the English so hard to 
 manage? " and Madame Stuyvesant laid her little 
 hand tenderly on the angry man's arm. He re 
 moved it with a kiss, and there was a mist of tears 
 in the eyes of the perplexed and anxious man as he 
 answered : 
 
 " Because, Judith, in the heart of every one of 
 them men and women there is a conviction, that 
 this land belongs to England, and that any day 
 their government may come and take it." 
 
 "But we shall not let them take it? " 
 
 " If we have neither fighting men, nor arms for 
 men to fight with, how can we help it? " 
 
 Then he lifted Lady Moody's letter again, and 
 said : " She wants thee to come to Gravesend 
 with me. But why? What influence can a little 
 woman like thee have over those men brutes 
 yelling for their ' Rights '? " 
 
 " I will tell thee, Peter, willows are but weak 
 twigs, but they bind strong wood. The touch of 
 my hand, the glint of kind eyes, and the tones of a 
 gentle voice will go far further than thy scolding. 
 Thou had better let me go, Peter."
 
 160 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " To be sure, I will be glad myself of thy kind 
 ways. I am going among my worst enemies, 
 Judith, but I'll make them stand up and face me." 
 
 Great preparations were made for this visit. 
 Trumpeters and couriers went in advance to notify 
 the villages of the Governor's intentions; horses 
 were sent across the river for the use of the party ; 
 and on the day appointed the Governor, Madame 
 Stuyvesant, Domine Megapolensis, and a detach 
 ment of soldiers embarked in a periauger and 
 landed at the little hamlet of Brooklyn. At Mid- 
 wont, a suite of rooms in the City Hall had been 
 prepared for them, and there they remained all 
 night, proceeding in the morning to Gravesend, 
 where they were received by Lady Moody with 
 regal hospitality. 
 
 Nevertheless, the crowd of stern, resolute-look 
 ing men who mef Stuyvesant in Council was a 
 problem he could not solve by any show of pomp 
 or authority. Baxter told him plainly that their 
 city officers had been lawfully elected, and were 
 men of the highest character and ability, and that 
 he must ratify their election, or the Long Island 
 villages would either unite under their own govern 
 ment, or join the Massachusetts colony at once. 
 
 From this position Stuyvesant could neither 
 persuade nor frighten them, yet to allow them to 
 assert their independence was to sign his own ab 
 dication. And if they chose to fight, he had not 
 men nor yet ammunition to make him a match for
 
 THE BONDMAN 161 
 
 an army of stubborn Englishmen, supported by 
 English settlers on every side of them. Then 
 again, if he had to sign the papers as presented 
 to him, it would be an intolerable humiliation, for 
 he had sworn he would never do so. 
 
 Lady Moody understood this dilemma and 
 found a way out of it. She broke up the meeting 
 with a call to such a sumptuous dinner table, as 
 the men sitting down at it had never before seen. 
 And when all hearts had been opened by delicious 
 foods, and the rich wines of Fayal and Madeira, 
 by song and by story, she said : 
 
 " Governor Stuyvesant, and gentlemen present. 
 When men cannot agree, they are right if they ask 
 a woman to find a way for them out of their 
 quarrel. Our governor has sworn that he will not 
 ratify any election by a popular vote, but I think 
 he will permit me to choose the officers for this 
 year only, and I think he will ratify any choice I 
 make. In a year, you may both see your wish in 
 a different way." 
 
 She had stood up to make this request, and her 
 noble figure clothed in black, with white net at her 
 throat and across her black hair, was full of a 
 grave and gracious authority. So when she con 
 tinued looking at Stuyvesant for an answer, he 
 rose and bowing to her, answered : 
 
 " If your Ladyship will choose now the two men 
 you think best for sheriff and assessor, I will 
 ratify your choice at once. I think all our friends
 
 162 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 here will accept this temporary solution of our 
 difficulty." 
 
 " We will accept whoever Lady Moody chooses," 
 said Ensign Baxter. " Am I right, gentlemen ? " 
 
 A cheer of assent followed, and Lady Moody im 
 mediately named the two men the people had 
 chosen Ensign Baxter and Sergeant Hubbard. 
 
 It was an entirely unlocked for climax, both to 
 the Governor and the disaffected, but it was as sat 
 isfactory as possible. The people received the 
 officers they had elected, and the Governor did not 
 ratify a popular vote he gave his sanction to the 
 personal selection of Lady Moody. 
 
 Yet for a moment there was an intense silence; 
 then Stuyvesant took himself well in hand. He 
 rose and said: "Your Ladyship's choice does 
 you honour," and turning to DeSille added: 
 *' Make out the proper credentials and I will ratify 
 them." 
 
 " We thank you, Governor." 
 
 Then Stuyvesant bowed to Lady Moody, and 
 the men assembled round her, and so the meeting 
 closed. Stuyvesant walked round the village with 
 the new officials, and praised the order and clean 
 liness, and evident prosperity he saw everywhere. 
 
 For two days longer the Stuyvesant party re 
 mained as guests of Lady Moody, and then the 
 lovely Indian summer showing signs of departing, 
 they went comfortably home in her Ladyship's 
 sloop. They had begun their journey to the
 
 THE BONDMAN 163 
 
 sound of trumpets, and the tramp of marching 
 men; they ended it by a very chill, disagreeable 
 walk, from the sloop to the Fort, in the dawn of the 
 November day, and Stuyvesant threw himself with 
 a sigh of relief into the big chair standing before 
 the blazing fire. 
 
 " I see that you have not got your way, Peter," 
 said Madame Bayard. 
 
 " No, Anna," answered Madame Stuyvesant. 
 " Lady Moody got her way, as usual." 
 
 " Whatever made you two play Lady Moody's 
 game for her? " 
 
 " She got me what I wanted, Anna, at this time," 
 answered Stuyvesant, " and I will be generally and 
 particularly grateful to you, Anna, if you will 
 stop talking of Lady Moody. My ears ache with 
 the sound of her name." 
 
 One morning two weeks after this event, Agratha 
 went to the Fort to talk over the Christmas prep 
 arations. She was in a very buoyant, happy mood 
 and the clear, frosty air was delightful to her, as 
 she stepped lightly and rapidly along the busy 
 road. 
 
 " There is an English gentleman with the Gover 
 nor," said Madame Bayard, " and what do you 
 think? I heard your father's name mentioned 
 more than once, in their conversation." 
 
 " My fader's name ! " ej aculated Agratha. 
 
 " More than that, I heard the name of your 
 bondman Gus. What can it mean ? "
 
 164 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " I know not," she answered, but a sudden terror 
 seized her. She thought of Rose Finlay, and won 
 dered if she ought to be told. Perhaps Gus was 
 in trouble, perhaps men had come to take him back 
 to England ; perhaps oh, she could not follow out 
 the fears that assailed her, and poor Gus ! What 
 if she ought to tell him, he might even yet escape. 
 
 " I am going, Madame Bayard," she said. " I 
 think I ought to tell moeder." 
 
 " And others, perhaps, Agratha." 
 
 " Well, then, it may so be." 
 
 However, she had not gone far from the 
 Fort, when she met Gus walking with a stranger, 
 to whom he was conversing with a passion and 
 rapidity that was marvellous in the usually silent 
 man. A little further on she saw her father at a 
 distance, but evidently taking a short road to the 
 Fort. Then she hesitated no longer. With swift 
 steps she reached Madame Van Dam's, and calling 
 Rose, confided to her all she had seen and heard. 
 
 Rose was much moved and excited. " I must go 
 and see what is taking place," she said. 
 
 " But why? " asked Agratha. " It is not your 
 affair. If Gus is in trouble my fader will do all 
 that can be done. I saw him going to the Fort. 
 He took a short road, and walked like a man in a 
 hurry. You can do nothing. Why should you 
 
 " Because Gus is my brother! Do you hear, 
 Agratha? Gus is my brother! He is the only
 
 THE BONDMAN 165 
 
 kindred I have in the world. Leave me now. I 
 must go to him." 
 
 " Oh, Rose, dear, I will make my fader do every 
 thing that can be done. And fader likes Gus, he 
 will stand by him, whatever the trouble is." 
 
 " Dear Agratha, I must go and see for myself." 
 Then Agratha went to her mother with the whole 
 story, and Madame Van Ruyven was amazed and 
 a little angry. " Why did not Gus tell me before 
 he left the house?" she asked. "As for Ro?e 
 Finlay," she continued, " I never quite trusted her. 
 She knew more than any respectable woman ought 
 to know, and she ought to be ashamed of herself 
 going into the first families here and everything." 
 " Dear moeder, Rose has done nothing wrong." 
 " Perhaps not, but men coming from England 
 after her brother looks bad, very bad. I dare say 
 it is forgery, or something of the kind perhaps 
 highway robbery and then it will be the gallows ; 
 and pray who would speak to Miss Rose after 
 that?" 
 
 " I would, moeder, and so would the rich Hol 
 lander, Paul Roedeke. He loves her so much that 
 nothing could change him. He is building the 
 
 finest house in New Amsterdam " 
 
 " Well, then, I know that." 
 " And Rose can be its mistress, if she wishes." 
 '* Tut! Hollanders are very particular about 
 their marriage relations; however, she is a nice 
 little lady, and I am sorry for her."
 
 166 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " And moeder, Gus is the only relative she has in 
 the world. Is that not very sad? " 
 
 " Well, then, when thy fader comes home, we 
 shall know how much sorrow it will be proper to 
 give. But who is to set the dinner table, and serve 
 the meal? Gus ought to be here now this very 
 minute." 
 
 " Well, then, moeder, I think Gus will never 
 more set our dinner table." 
 
 " Nonsense ! If he has done something wrong, 
 thy fader will manage the affair some way. I can 
 not do without Gus. It is quite impossible." 
 
 Yet Madame had to make a possibility of the 
 negro woman Lucinda, and after the table had been 
 prepared, Van Ruyven did not come to dinner, and 
 it was well on towards twilight when he appeared. 
 Madame had been arranging a few words for him, 
 but as soon as she looked into his face, she forgot 
 them. For Van Ruyven had on his countenance 
 that light which comes only from an interior illum 
 ination. 
 
 " I am late, Ragel," he said, with an air of con 
 fidence, " but late in a good cause. Thou will be 
 glad of it." 
 
 " Well, then," she answered, " the cause, let us 
 hear it." 
 
 " I will, but first give me a cup of tea. It is 
 little food I need this night." 
 
 " A man must have food, Paul ; there is always 
 cause for that."
 
 THE BONDMAN 167 
 
 " Here are your slippers, fader, and your long- 
 sleeved vest, and your little silk cap ; " and 
 Agratha, as she spoke, pushed the Master's chair 
 near to the fire while Madame went about the even 
 ing meal. 
 
 " When people say they are not hungry, they 
 are mistaken," she thought, and she cut some slices 
 of cold beef and placed them before her husband, 
 and when Van Ruyven saw them, he helped himself 
 bountifully and seemed unconscious that he was do 
 ing so. 
 
 " Now, Paul," said Madame, " we would like to 
 know what has become of Gus. What have you to 
 tell? " 
 
 " He has taken a room at Madame Van Dam's, 
 and will board with her until he returns to Eng 
 land, or rather Scotland." 
 
 " But, Paul ! A room at the Van Dams' ! Do 
 you know what you are saying? I hate riddles and 
 mysteries, tell me the truth in straight words, and 
 be done with it." 
 
 " Well, then, Gus is really Angus McAlpine, 
 Chief of Clan McAlpine, the oldest of all the Scot 
 tish clans, and claiming to be of royal descent. 
 What do you think of that, Ragel? " 
 
 " Do you believe such a thing ? For me, I think 
 it all say-so ! How could the chief of a royal clan 
 become our bondman? I count such a thing im 
 possible, Paul. And pray, who could have the 
 power either to enslave or set free a man of such
 
 168 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 rank ? I should want some good evidence for such 
 a story. Yes, indeed ! " 
 
 " Well, then, Ragel, it took one of the biggest 
 battles England ever fought, and the death and 
 bondage of thousands of men to make it possible 
 for Angus McAlpine to come into thy kitchen ; and 
 it took Oliver Cromwell, Gael Mclvar, and Paul 
 Van Ruyven, to set him free." 
 
 " And how many guilders did it cost thee? " 
 
 " Not one. I have my money back to the last 
 stiver ; but if there had not been a penny piece for 
 me, I should have said after hearing his story : * Go 
 to your own, Angus McAlpine, you are no longer 
 the bondman of Paul Van Ruyven ! ' : 
 
 " This is all very fine, Paul, but the why and 
 wherefore of it would be better." 
 
 " Take a little patience, Ragel. When King 
 Charles made that race with Cromwell for his king 
 dom which ended in the tragedy of Worcester, 
 most of the Highland clans followed him. Among 
 them was Dugald, Chief of the McAlpines and his 
 three sons, Hector, Alexander, and Angus. The 
 latter was a mere boy, scarcely seventeen years 
 old." 
 
 " Was this Angus, our Gus, fader? " 
 
 " That is the plain truth. He had his share in 
 all that took place, and finally found himself with 
 the rest of the Scottish troops at Worcester where 
 the final battle was to be fought. The McAlpines 
 were among the troops set to keep the bridge
 
 THE BONDMAN 169 
 
 across the Severn, and there the fight raged longest 
 and hottest. His father fell first, and as he fell, 
 Hector, the eldest son, leaped to the front and took 
 command. In five minutes Hector was dead, and 
 Alexander was in his place. It was but a short 
 time ere Alexander was killed, and then Angus went 
 to the head of the clan. How long he kept com 
 mand he knows not. He had a wound in his head, 
 and fought like a man in a dream, until he must 
 have lost consciousness, for when he came to him 
 self the battle was over and lost and he, and all 
 the living of his clan, were prisoners." 
 
 " Poor young man ! " said Ragel pitifully ; " but 
 how did he reach America? Did he run away, 
 Paul?" 
 
 " No. The prisoners were marched in a body to 
 London, there were seven thousand of them, and 
 jvhen about half way there, a gentleman entertained 
 Cromwell splendidly, and received, as a gift from 
 him, one hundred prisoners. McAlpine and some 
 of his clan were among them. They were de 
 spatched at once to the English colonies, and sold 
 as bondmen for the highest number of years pro 
 curable. I bought McAlpine for ten years, he has 
 served us nearly four. 
 
 " If he was wounded, fader, how did he walk to 
 London ? " 
 
 " He told us that his clan took a plaid, and mak 
 ing a hammock of it, carried him in it all the way 
 to London."
 
 170 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " And he was separated from these faithful fel 
 lows ! " cried Agratha ; " what a shame ! " 
 
 " That is what I say. They went first to the 
 West Indies, and left fifty of their number there. 
 Ten were left for the tobacco fields at Norfolk. 
 Seven were sold in New York, and the rest in Bos 
 ton and Salem. His account of their dispersal was 
 most piteous. The Governor's eyes were full of 
 tears, and indeed, Ragel, I would have felt it a re 
 lief to have shown a like weakness." 
 
 " If these things be so, he must have had power 
 ful friends to help him; for New Amsterdam is a 
 long way from London," said Ragel. 
 
 " Quite unexpectedly he met Lord Mclvar at 
 Lady Moody's two years ago, and Mclvar has 
 powerful friends, and Angus McAlpine and Gael 
 Mclvar are not only neighbours, they are also 
 foster-brothers." 
 
 " Foster brothers ! How so, Paul? " 
 
 " Well, then, when Mclvar was born, his mother 
 was ill with fever, and could not suckle her child. 
 Lady McAlpine was then nursing her son Angus, 
 and Mclvar was taken to McAlpine castle and ten 
 derly cared for by Lady McAlpine. The boys 
 grew up together, and like brothers they loved each 
 other. After Worcester, the Mclvars did all that 
 was possible to find out if any of the McAlpines 
 had been spared, but they could hear nothing of 
 them; and for long Gael Mclvar mourned Angus 
 as dead. His meeting with him at Gravesend was
 
 THE BONDMAN 171 
 
 a great shock. Ever since, he has been working 
 for his foster-brother's freedom, and finally he suc 
 ceeded through the influence of Lord Thurlow, 
 who is no relative, but had once been a lover of 
 Lady Mclvar." 
 
 " 'Tis a strange story," said Madame Van Ruy- 
 ven. " Poor Gus ! Sometimes I was cross with 
 him. To-night I am sorry for it. But tell me, 
 Paul, why he went to Madame Van Dam's? " 
 
 '* He went there because his sister stays there." 
 
 " Do you mean Rose Finlay? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I always thought that woman had the look of 
 sorrows and adventures. It is not a nice look for 
 a woman to have. Why did she call herself out of 
 her own name ? " 
 
 " Her name is Rose Finlay McAlpine. She had 
 her good reasons for dropping the clan name." 
 
 " I thought she came from Paris ? " 
 
 " After Worcester, she fled with her mother to 
 Paris. In a few months Lady McAlpine died, and 
 then Rose began her search for her lost brother." 
 
 " Did she know that he was alive? " 
 
 " She hoped so. The stragglers from the battle 
 field reached home singly, or by twos and threes. 
 They had been hunted through England and Low 
 land Scotland, but they were cattle drovers, and 
 knew lonely and uninhabited roads, and so nearly 
 naked and famished stumbled up to McAlpine 
 Castle, with their terrible story of disaster. Most
 
 172 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 of them had seen the dead bodies of Chief Dugald 
 and his two eldest sons, but all agreed that Angus 
 had been taken a prisoner while still fighting. 
 After the death of Lady McAlpine, Rose had but 
 one hope and aim to find her brother." 
 
 " Does she know that he is found? Who sent 
 her word? Was it the Governor? " 
 
 " Moeder," answered Agratha, " I told her, as 
 I came home, that Gus was with the Governor and 
 a gentleman from England, and she trembled with 
 excitement, and said she must hurry to the Fort. 
 I think she knew then that the thing she wanted 
 had come to pass." 
 
 " She was with Madame Stuyvesant and 
 Madame Bayard all day," said Van Ruyven, " and 
 you could hear the women talking and crying 
 with her." 
 
 " Well, Paul, to speak it plain, what did the 
 Governor say to this wonderful story?" 
 
 " The Governor behaved like a good man, yes, 
 indeed, like a man of God. He seated the poor 
 bondman by his side, he hurried over the count 
 ing and writing and sealing of papers, and was the 
 first to call him * Chief McAlpine ' and declare 
 him free as his Maker made him. To-day I saw 
 the real Peter Stuyvesant, and he has a good 
 heart, a kind, merciful heart." 
 
 " Angus McAlpine was a soldier, Paul," said 
 Madame Van Ruyven, " and the whole brood of 
 them were soldiers, and there it is! Stuyvesant
 
 THE BONDMAN 173 
 
 feels to a soldier, as if he were a comrade. If the 
 young man's father had kept store, or built 
 houses, he would have hummed and hawed over 
 every word, and dallied and delayed beyond 
 patience." 
 
 " Come, come, Ragel. Can't you take a good 
 deed without looking for its motives? I say that 
 Stuyvesant behaved like a man of God to-day. 9 ' 
 
 " For my part, Paul " 
 
 " Good gracious, wife ! I saw him ! He wept 
 with the bondman, and he rejoiced with him. He 
 ate and drank with him, he treated him as one 
 brave man treats another brave man." 
 
 " Well, then, it is a new tale thou art taking up 
 about Peter Stuyvesant; I am not yet used to it. 
 Will this wonderful young soldier remain in New 
 Amsterdam? I shall not know how to treat him." 
 
 " In a short time he goes with his sister to 
 Scotland. That was the only injunction laid on 
 him by Cromwell that he should return as soon 
 as possible to his native land, gather his people 
 together, and live quietly on his estate." 
 
 "But why?" 
 
 " Because, Ragel, there are too many young 
 Englishmen and Scotsmen going to France, and 
 gathering round King Charles." 
 
 " It was well Madame Stuyvesant remembered 
 men got hungry at regular hours, and sent you 
 something to eat," said Ragel. " It is seldom she 
 reminds herself of such a thing."
 
 174 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " She sent us a very good lunch, and the Gov 
 ernor placed Chief Angus at his right hand, and 
 we drank his health and prosperity before any 
 other toast. I ate heartily, and I was not hungry 
 when I came home." 
 
 " No, but thou got hungry as soon as the meal 
 was on the table." 
 
 " Well, then, that is my way." 
 
 The many details of this wonderful story kept 
 the Van Ruyvens talking long after their usual 
 hour, and it happened that in the course of 
 the conversation, Agratha said something which 
 roused her mother's suspicion and compelled her 
 confession of what she had seen between Mclvar 
 and McAlpine at Lady Moody's. 
 
 Madame was angry at her daughter. " You 
 ought to have told me as soon as you came home," 
 she said. " I dare say Lady Moody was then 
 told the whole story, for she finds out everything, 
 or else people go and beg her to listen to their 
 secrets. I am astonished and ashamed of you, 
 Agratha, keeping such an important thing a secret 
 from your moeder." 
 
 " Moeder dear, it was not my secret. It was 
 Lord Mclvar's secret." 
 
 " And it was also Angus McAlpine's secret, 
 and Angus McAlpine was a bondsman in my 
 house." 
 
 " I did not know what unhappiness I might 
 cause by talking."
 
 THE BONDMAN 175 
 
 " But no ! How could you cause unhappiness 
 by talking to your moeder? " 
 
 " Fader, did I do wrong, or right ? " 
 
 " You did right, Agratha. You did what I 
 should have done. Always when you are not sure 
 what to say, say nothing." 
 
 " Well, well, Paul Ruyven ! Can you teach 
 your daughter nothing but disobedience? What 
 is to be the end of such ways ? Oh, dear, if it has 
 come to this ! " 
 
 " Now, Ragel, we will go to our good sleep. 
 The day is over! It has been a wonderful day 
 and we must thank The Merciful One and sleep. 
 ITo-morrow our work will be waiting for us."
 
 CHAPTER SEVEN 
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 
 
 AT this time without any apparent reason Agratha 
 was unhappy. Her soul was cast down and dis 
 quieted within her, yet the Christmas preparations 
 were well on and she was busy with many a 
 pleasant duty. Also this year every man, woman 
 and child seemed more than usually inspired by 
 Christmas mirth and good fellowship. This cir 
 cumstance probably rose from two causes: first, 
 from Angus McAlpine. His story was told over 
 and over as men smoked and drank their Hollands 
 and women knit and listened and commented on it ; 
 while the very appearance of the youth on the 
 streets was a visible, living romance 
 
 For his faithful sister had carried with her 
 through all the difficulties of the travel of that 
 day, a full suit of Chief's clothing, and what could 
 be a finer fairy story for Christmas-tide, than the 
 transformation of the poor bondman, Gus, into 
 Angus, Chief of McAlpine. Everyone liked to see 
 his great stature in its kilt and plaid of the beau 
 tiful McAlpine tartan the dark blues and greens 
 squared with gold and white his fine lace and 
 176
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 177 
 
 linen, his velvet vest with its gold buttons, and his 
 Glengary cap with its eagle feather and silver 
 boar's head, his splendidly tasselled sporran of 
 stamped leather, his jewelled kirk, and his tartan 
 hose gartered below the knee, with bows of Mc- 
 Alpine ribbon. No wonder the girls were in love 
 with him, and that the men liked to look at the 
 gallant figure, and fancy themselves in the same 
 striking and picturesque costume. For with the 
 dress, Angus had assumed all of a chief's haughty 
 manner and carriage, and to the unromantic and 
 often ignorant Dutch trader, the youth was a 
 page out of a story book fitting in well enough 
 with the wonder and mystery of Christmas. 
 
 The other event influencing Christmas was the 
 fact that the Governor was to sail on Christmas 
 Eve for the West Indies. The news of this in 
 tention affected New Amsterdam very much as the 
 news that the schoolmaster was going away for all 
 day would affect the boys in a big school. The 
 burghers for ,once had not a single objection to 
 make. In fact they did all they could to forward 
 his plans, and also prepared for a great banquet 
 to be given to him on the eve of his departure. 
 
 It was hardly likely that Agratha could be af 
 fected by either of these causes, unless as they 
 influenced the people with whom she came in con 
 tact ; yet even this much was a sway or a bias she 
 could not ignore. For instance she was astonished 
 and troubled by the change in Rose McAlpine.
 
 178 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 She had lost all her fine spirits and sunny temper. 
 She was more like a person that had suffered a 
 great loss or disappointment, than one who, after 
 years of toil and search, had been rewarded 
 with all her wish. And about this remarkable 
 change Agratha could not help speaking to her 
 mother. 
 
 Madame shook her head sadly and answered: 
 " It is Elsie Van Dam that troubles Rose. I 
 heard this morning that Angus and Elsie are to be 
 married immediately. It was even said they loved 
 each other when McAlpine was our bondman." 
 
 " Yes, moeder, I believe it. Many things I saw 
 and wondered over." 
 
 " Madame Van Dam is much distressed. Elsie 
 is her only living child, and Rose has 
 travelled and worked and suffered so much for 
 Angus. When he was first found, Rose began to 
 plan their life together, and how it would be their 
 joy to work until they had released all of their 
 clan who were in bondage. Oh, dear moeder, so 
 much disappointment can come to the heart that 
 loves ! " 
 
 " None for you, Dear One." 
 
 " Yes, yes, moeder ! I am disappointed more 
 than I can tell you, because Gael Mclvar has been 
 so false and forgetful." 
 
 " Perhaps he is not forgetful, Dear One. I 
 think he will come at the time he promised." 
 
 " No, no, moeder ! He would have written. He
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 179 
 
 would have written. Just one little letter would 
 have made me happy. But no! " 
 
 And Ragel looked so sadly at her daughter, and 
 seemed so ready to speak, that Agratha waited for 
 her words, but instead of speaking, she lifted her 
 work and went away. This was one of those con 
 versations that prefigure something much more 
 important in the same direction. 
 
 It came with Lady Moody a few days before 
 Christmas. She entered the Van Ruyven house 
 radiant and full of life, but yet with an air of 
 determination, as if she had an unpleasant duty to 
 perform, and was restless until it was accom 
 plished. After the first civilities were over she 
 said: 
 
 " I am at the Stillwells. I have come to the 
 city not only for Christmas, but to be present at 
 the marriage of McAlpine to Elsie Van Dam." 
 
 " It is not possible ! Surely it cannot be ! just 
 yet ! " exclaimed Madame Van Ruyven. 
 
 " It is the truth. I am angry with McAlpine, 
 and Rose is miserably disappointed. She had 
 such great dreams of what Angus and herself 
 would do to restore the prestige of their clan. I 
 assure you, I came to New Amsterdam this time 
 with more bad temper than I usually carry about 
 with me." 
 
 " Agratha has told me," said Madame, " that 
 Elsie showed Angus some favours before he was 
 free. A girl does not carry on for nothing."
 
 180 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Elsie is a shrewd little Dutch woman. She 
 did not show favour, unless she knew to whom she 
 was showing it." 
 
 " How could she know? " 
 
 ** There are many ways of finding out things, 
 open to women who live in the same house. I 
 hear they are to sail with the Governor in the ship 
 Abraham's Sacrifice on Christmas Eve." 
 
 " But the Governor goes to the West Indies." 
 
 " He will touch at Jamaica, and there they will 
 find good English ships at any season. There is 
 not one in our harbour at present." 
 
 " Will Rose go with them? " 
 
 " Yes, as far as London. From London she 
 goes to Paris. And Angus is willing! Such in 
 gratitude is incredible. Poor little Rose ! " 
 
 " How can he ? How can he ? " 
 
 " Ragel, he is in love. Every man is brutually 
 selfish, under the spell. There is then but one 
 woman in the world to him. If others live, he is 
 indifferent to them, and as for the one woman, he 
 must have her if he tread on his own soul to get 
 her." 
 
 " Moeder, I am going to sit with Rose a little 
 while," said Agratha. 
 
 " That is well. Be home in a good time." 
 
 As soon as Agratha had left the room, Lady 
 Moody took from her reticule a little parcel. 
 " Ragel," she said, " here is another token and 
 letter from Gael Mclvar. In his letter to me, he
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW ,181 
 
 complains that he has never had one line from 
 Agratha. Why is that? How did she receive his 
 gifts and letters? " 
 
 Madame was too troubled to answer for a few 
 moments, and when she did so, her voice betrayed 
 excitement, if not anger. " She never received 
 any of them. Her father thought it best to say 
 nothing about either gifts or letters." 
 
 " That was a very unkind, dishonourable thing 
 to do, and I am sorry for you." 
 
 " Your sorrow is not required, Deborah. No, 
 indeed ! Agratha is our child, and her fader 
 wished her to forget the young man. He is not a 
 desirable match for Agratha." 
 
 " Indeed ! Then Madame, I am a very indif 
 ferent judge of a desirable match. Gael Mclvar is 
 a good match for any woman in Scotland, or Eng 
 land either." 
 
 " And yet may not be good for any woman in 
 New Amsterdam." 
 
 " Let me tell you one thing. Agratha was 
 passionately taken with Gael and you have be 
 haved to her in an exceedingly unhandsome man 
 ner. I have here a letter and a gift from his 
 Lordship, and I shall put them into the child's 
 own hand. I swear she has been badly used be 
 tween us, and I am very uneasy at the circum 
 stances." 
 
 " Take off your bonnet and cloak, Deborah, and 
 do not get angry for nothing at all."
 
 182 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Look you, Ragel. I do not consider keeping 
 jewellery and letters ' nothing at all.* And I am 
 astonished at Councillor Van Ruyven. Women 
 will do dirty, mean, underhand tricks, to get their 
 way, but that a man should keep a little girl's 
 trinkets and love letters is an intolerably ugly 
 thing." 
 
 " Deborah, men do as many dirty, mean, under 
 hand tricks to get their way, as women do. There 
 was nothing wrong in our keeping these things 
 from Agratha. Parents should keep their chil 
 dren from playing with fire. We are not very 
 patterns of wisdom like yourself, but I think we 
 may be trusted to take care of our own daughter." 
 
 " Indeed, I will trust you no longer ! I am 
 mightily annoyed at myself for trusting you so 
 far. You have fallen short of my expectations." 
 
 " That is a great calamity for us. I hope we 
 shall be able to bear it." 
 
 " You are making yourself disagreeable, Ragel. 
 You are very foolish. You ought to be full of 
 excuses and regrets, and you have not one decent 
 defence. To speak plainly, you have amazed me. 
 I dislike you for this injustice to Agratha, but I 
 find I love you well enough to tell you so." 
 
 " Then sit down, and if I can invent any ex 
 cuses, I will try to do so." 
 
 " Not now, Ragel. This is an unpleasant visit, 
 and I don't care how soon I finish it." 
 
 " Well, then, Deborah, understand that I do not
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 183 
 
 allow you to be a judge of Councillor Van Ruy- 
 ven's and my conduct." 
 
 " My dear, your servant." and with these 
 words Lady Moody departed. 
 
 Madame Van Ruyven was much troubled, and 
 she knew not how to act. It seemed at first as 
 if it would be best to tell Agratha the whole truth, 
 but when she returned from her visit to Rose, she 
 was so silent and depressed her mother feared to 
 open the subject with her. After all, it might be 
 better to let her father make excuses, if he thought 
 excuses necessary. 
 
 " You must be sick, Dear One," Madame said : 
 ' this some time past you have not had any good 
 spirits, and so seldom now you laugh, or even sing 
 the pretty songs Rose taught you. Where is 
 your trouble? Tell moeder." 
 
 " Moeder, I am well. I have no pain ; only my 
 heart is sad, because I see that Love brings only 
 sorrow and disappointment." 
 
 " Not so, Dear One. Much happiness comes 
 with Love." 
 
 " Not to me." 
 
 " Very wrong it is for thee to talk in such a way 
 very thankless. Has thy fader's or thy moeder's 
 love brought thee " then she stopped speak 
 ing, for she suddenly perceived what sorrow and 
 disappointment was coming to Agratha, through 
 her fader's and moeder's love. 
 
 So silence fell between these two, always before
 
 184 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 so full of innocent gossip and wonderings, and 
 the mother's heart ached with the knowledge of 
 evil, and the child's with the fear of evil. But 
 after a short silence Madame said : " You have 
 done too much with your needle lately, Agratha; 
 put away your work, and tell some things to me. 
 Did you see Rose? " 
 
 " Yes, moeder." 
 
 " What did she say about her brother's wed 
 ding? " 
 
 " She said little, but she looked sick and un 
 happy. She was alone in her room. Angus and 
 Elsie, were busy writing some invitations, and 
 directing the servants, who were decorating 
 the two large parlours. They seemed happy 
 enough." 
 
 " When are they to be married? " 
 
 " Two days before Christmas." 
 
 "Will you be invited?" 
 
 " I hope not. I do not wish to go. How can 
 Angus and Elsie be so happy? Madame Van 
 Dam is constantly weeping, and Rose looks 
 wretched. They must see the misery they are 
 causing." 
 
 "Well, then, Agratha, every joy and every 
 gain is built on the ruins of someone's happiness, 
 or someone's loss. That is the way things are 
 ordered." 
 
 " Then I take leave to say, moeder, it Is a cruel, 
 hard way. I do not want my happiness built on
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 185 
 
 yours and fader's misery. I would not so have 
 it. No, indeed ! " 
 
 " It makes me glad, Dear One, to hear thee say 
 such good words." 
 
 " But then faders and moeders should not make 
 the way too hard. If they do, they will see what 
 comes of it." 
 
 Madame did not answer, and Van Ruyven com 
 ing in at the moment, the conversation ceased. 
 Yet Ragel felt strangely uncomfortable at its per 
 sistent tendency in one direction. And when sup 
 per was nearly over, young Nicholas Stillwell came 
 to the door, and asked for Miss Van Ruyven. He 
 evaded all requests to enter, and when Agratha 
 went to him, he gave her a small parcel, which he 
 said he brought with Lady Moody's love. 
 
 Agratha came back to the table smiling with 
 pleasure. " I think Lady Moody has sent me a 
 Christmas present," she said, and so began 
 eagerly to untie the string of the parcel. Madame 
 looked at her husband, who was placidly buttering 
 and eating his waffles. The parcel at length lay 
 open. There was a handsome jewellery case in it 
 and a letter. Agratha lifted the letter, and a 
 wave of rosy colour swept over her face, and her 
 eyes shone like stars, and she said softly: 
 
 " Moeder ! Fader ! it is it is from Gael Mc- 
 Ivar ! " and then her eyes followed the tender, re 
 proachful words from line to line, until all signs 
 of pleasure disappeared, and her face was sad and
 
 186 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 white and wretched. When she had read the letter 
 through, she sat silent and motionless for a few 
 moments, then in a low voice she said: 
 
 " Gael tells me that he has sent me three letters, 
 and three gifts before this. I wonder what has 
 become of them? " and she looked steadily at her 
 mother. 
 
 " Ask thy fader, Agratha," replied Madame, in 
 answer to the inquiry, and then Agratha said: 
 " Fader, dost thus know where my letters and 
 gifts are? " 
 
 " Yes, I know." 
 
 Tell me." 
 
 " They are in my desk in the parlour." 
 
 " Get them for me. Yes, fader, get them now ! 
 I want them ! Oh, fader, I want them so much ! " 
 
 " It is better for thee not to have them." 
 
 " They are mine, fader ; moeder, speak for me." 
 
 *' When the young man comes, I will give them 
 back to him." 
 
 " I care not for the jewellery. Fader, I want 
 my letters ! I must have my letters ! " 
 
 " Since when did a child like thee learn to say 
 must to her fader? " 
 
 " When her letters were stolen from her. 
 Fader, I will not speak to thee again unless thou 
 give me my letters. If thou wilt not give me them, 
 I will go and tell the Governor. He will make 
 thee give me all that is mine. Thou may keep the 
 jewels but I must have my letters! "
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 187 
 
 " A child like thee, Agratha " 
 
 ** Fader, a child has some rights of its own. I 
 want my letters! I must have my letters! If 
 thou wilt not give me them, be sure I will go to the 
 Governor. If I am a child, he will stand for me, 
 just because I am a child. I thought thou loved 
 me! I thought thou loved me! Oh wee! Oh 
 wee! I thought thou loved me ! " and she covered 
 her face with her hands, and wept with all the pas 
 sionate abandon of a child. 
 
 " I kept thy letters, Agratha, because I loved 
 thee because I loved thee too well to give them to 
 thee. But if thou cannot trust thy fader, thou 
 shalt have them. God help me ! Thou hast torn 
 my heart in two this night. Still, if that young 
 man is more to thee than thy fader and moeder, 
 thou shalt have his letters curse them ! " 
 
 " Fader, it is cruel and wicked to curse what is 
 coming into my hands ! " and she held out her 
 small hands towards him, till he could have cried 
 aloud in his anger and heartache. " It is not 
 that I love Gael more than thee, fader, but I am 
 sorry for him watching, watching, watching for 
 the few kind words I ought to have sent ; and 
 never, never getting them. Two years! Two 
 long years he has been watching and waiting! 
 And poor Agratha, she also was watching and 
 waiting, and covering up her heartache with a 
 smile, that she might talk to thee ; and perhaps, at 
 the same hour, thou had the letter in thy pocket,
 
 188 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 that would have made thy poor Agratha happy. 
 It was cruel ! Yes, it was cruel ! " 
 
 " Thou shalt have thy letters, Agratha." 
 
 " Thy fader kept them out of the truest love for 
 thee, Agratha. Do not forget that," said 
 Madame. 
 
 " I know he thinks he did, moeder." 
 
 " I also thought he did right." 
 
 " So! Then I am sorry and astonished. 
 When thou went to Albany to see my sister, many 
 letters thou wrote to my fader. I gave them 
 great love and honour. I let no strange hand 
 touch them. I would not have kept one for my 
 very life. No, indeed ! " 
 
 " Oh, Agratha, that was a different case." 
 
 " Not so much different, moeder. Some day it 
 may be the same." 
 
 At these words Paul Van Ruyven laid three let 
 ters and three packages before her. " If they 
 bring thee dool and sorrow, Agratha, remember I 
 would have saved thee, and thou would not let 
 me." There were tears in his troubled eyes, and 
 he went to the fireside and sat down, but forgot to 
 take his pipe. 
 
 Madame called a servant to remove the supper 
 dishes, and Agratha lifted her letters and parcels, 
 and sat down with them in her hands. No one 
 spoke ; the very atmosphere of the room was full of 
 wrong and sorrow, just as it is sometimes full of 
 rain. Paul had not thought of his pipe, Madame
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 189 
 
 had taken her wheel, but was breaking the thread 
 with its every turn; and Agratha sat white and 
 silent, a sense of injury and injustice thrilling her 
 from head to feet. 
 
 Yet it was not so much her own loss and suffer 
 ing she was lamenting, it was the wrong done to 
 Gael Mclvar she resented. How ungrateful he 
 must have thought her ! How vulgarly unfeeling ! 
 How careless of his happiness! Would he ever 
 come back to New Amsterdam now? It was 
 hardly to be expected. And if not, her father and 
 mother would alone be to blame. These, and 
 kindred thoughts, kept her keenly alive to the 
 wrong she felt had been done to her, and she rose 
 while the servant was still busy about the hearth, 
 and went upstairs to her own room. 
 
 It was thought best not to disturb her again 
 that night, but morning brought no relief to the 
 unhappy tension. Van Ruyven glanced at the 
 face of his daughter, and felt it useless to offer 
 her either courtesy or explanation. He remained 
 silent, and after a poor meal put on his top coat 
 and hat preparatory to going to his business. 
 Ragel followed him to the outer door, and he said 
 angrily : 
 
 "Let her alone! We have done nothing more 
 than our duty. We will not make concessions. 
 It is not our place. No, indeed ! " 
 
 " Right or wrong, Paul, what thou did was 
 done for the best. Grieve not thyself about it."
 
 190 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " For that strange man she will make us both 
 miserable. And at the Christmas! It is beyond 
 reason! I am very unhappy, Ragel." 
 
 " She will find some good sense soon, or I will 
 help her to do so." 
 
 " Listen to me ! Be not hard with her. She 
 believes she has been badly used. That, I must 
 confess." 
 
 " Tut! She is not fretting about her own 
 trouble, not she! She is fretting because that 
 man has not been, as she thinks, treated properly. 
 It is not for herself she is angry, it is for Gael 
 Mclvar." 
 
 " There it is, Ragel. That is the sore point. 
 I cannot bear it." 
 
 " Thou go to thy business and put the man out 
 of thy mind. I will uphold thy end of the quarrel. 
 Leave it with me." Paul nodded his head and 
 went rather drearily to look after his invoices and 
 bills of lading. And it was Christmas week, and 
 he ought to have been so happy! He felt bit 
 terly, that his life was being plundered at one of 
 its most beautiful and affluent points. 
 
 Madame sympathised with him keenly. She 
 went back to the breakfast table where Agratha 
 was slowly breaking her bread into her coffee. 
 " Make some haste, Agratha," she said, and as 
 Agratha did not answer, she glanced at her 
 daughter, and noticed a thin gold chain about her 
 neck.
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 191 
 
 Instantly she had an instinctive knowledge as 
 to its use, but she was determined to make Agratha 
 confess it. So she asked: 
 
 "What hast thou round thy neck, Agratha?" 
 
 " A gold chain, moeder." 
 
 " Where did thou get it? " 
 
 " Gael sent it to me." 
 
 " What does the chain hold? " 
 
 " Gael's likeness." 
 
 " I knew it ! " she exclaimed in a tone of extreme 
 contempt. " If a man wishes to give a girl a 
 present, he can think of nothing in all the world 
 so beautiful, and so precious, as his own face. 
 I'll vow it will be set round with diamonds or 
 pearls, nothing else would be good enough for 
 it." 
 
 "Moeder, what is the matter with thee? I 
 thought thou would certainly stand by me in this 
 sorrow." 
 
 " What sorrow ! Thy good fader took charge 
 of some silly letters and presents, not fit for thee 
 to have, and lo and behold ! thou art making thy 
 self ugly and ill, and thy home wretched, and the 
 happy Christmas feast dark and heavy, because 
 of thy disappointment about three or four letters. 
 At thy age, it is a shame for thee to be receiving 
 love letters at all. Very forward, thou must have 
 been with that man Mclvar, to warrant him 
 in " 
 
 " Moeder ! Moeder ! Say not such wicked
 
 192 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 words! Well thou knowest I was not forward. 
 Oh wee! Oh tsoeel It is cruel ! " 
 
 " Wearing his picture in thy bosom, too 1 
 What am I to think of thee?" 
 
 Then with a pitiful cry, Agratha rose and fled 
 like a hunted thing to her room. And all day 
 she stayed there. And all day she was permitted 
 to stay there, without one word of dissent from 
 her mother. When Van Ruyven returned in 
 the evening he asked immediately " Where is 
 Agratha? " and Madame answered " She is keep 
 ing Mclvar's picture company in her own room. 
 I think it is the best place for her. Yes, indeed ! " 
 
 The next day Angus McAlpine and Elsie Van 
 Dam were married, and Madame was precisely in 
 the proper temper to send an excuse for her ab 
 sence. Van Ruyven attended the religious cere 
 mony, but left immediately after the signing of 
 the marriage certificate. He pleaded important 
 business; but he did not return to his warehouse, 
 he went straight home. He found Ragel at her 
 spinning wheel, but Paul knew from its fitful 
 movements that Ragel, though looking outwardly 
 calm, was inwardly insurgent. 
 
 " Is the wedding over? " she asked. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Well then, what hast thou to tell? Did any 
 one ask after me? " 
 
 " No, the rooms were crowded. Thou wert not 
 missed."
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 193 
 
 " Nor Agratha, either ? " 
 
 " I am sure no one thought of her." 
 
 " How did Elsie look? " 
 
 " Beautiful." 
 
 " In white, of course? " 
 
 " Yes, but she had blue flowers in her 
 hair." 
 
 " That is strange, I never heard the like." 
 
 " There will be dancing and a supper. Stuy- 
 vesant signed the certificate, and gave Angus a 
 silver goblet." 
 
 " Well, I hope they may be happy." 
 
 " They seemed much in love with each other. 
 They saw no one else, and cared for no one else. 
 Ragel, this is what I think, of all the sorrows com 
 mon to this mortal life, the saddest of all is Lov 
 ing. See here, we put our heart in the hand of 
 a child, and then ten to one, it crushes it like an 
 empty egg shell." 
 
 Ragel looked into her husband's face, and 
 sighed, and Paul continued : " Not one of our 
 children married as we wished. And now, 
 Agratha! Oh the bitter, bitter pleasure of chil 
 dren! Ragel, I am unhappy. I can not add a 
 little line of figures. I sent an order this morn 
 ing to Philadelphia, instead of to Boston. I am 
 unhappy, Ragel." 
 
 " And she is crying in her room." 
 
 " Thou must not be hard to her." 
 
 " What dost thou think of me? Agratha is
 
 194 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 dearer than life to me. I am glad thou went to 
 see Angus married. How did he look? " 
 
 " Like a very prince. He was in full kilt and 
 feather." 
 
 "Did thou see Rose?" 
 
 " Yes. She looked very handsome, and very 
 unhappy. I noticed that the rich Hollander, Paul 
 Roedeke, kept close to her." 
 
 " They also may make a marriage. I suppose 
 Madame was in all her airs and graces, and called 
 Elsie, Lady McAlpine, on every occasion." 
 
 "Madame Vam Dam? She was not present. 
 She was said to have a rheumatic attack. She 
 had a broken heart more likely. Elsie was her 
 very life, she is leaving her forever, no doubt." 
 
 " Well then, Paul, are we not foolish to build 
 our lives on our children girls especially. The 
 foundation is too uncertain. Come then, Dear 
 One, let us talk of something else. We cannot 
 alter things, and what cannot be cured, must be 
 endured. What hast thou heard about the 
 Governor's journey to the West Indies?" 
 
 " It is a settled matter. He leaves on Christ 
 mas Eve. The McAlpines go with him. I saw 
 a notice put out by the burgomasters and schepens 
 saying : * They will compliment the Right Hon 
 ourable Peter Stuyvesant before he takes his gal 
 lant voyage, by providing a gay repast in the 
 Council Chamber of the City Hall.' " 
 
 " Well then, wilt thou be there? "
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 195 
 
 " Yes ; my interest lies that way." 
 
 But the conversation about the Governor's 
 " gay repast " soon languished, and they found 
 themselves constantly reverting to their child's 
 stubborn rebellion. This subject they had gone 
 over in every conceivable way of looking at it 
 many times, yet it was the only one that could 
 tempt them to conversation. 
 
 " Agratha might have trusted her fader," said 
 Van Ruyven. And he said it so often, that its 
 tiresome iteration at length irritated Ragel, and 
 she answered, and with some reproach in her 
 voice : 
 
 " Perhaps then, her fader might have trusted 
 Agratha." 
 
 Van Ruyen looked up in astonishment, and 
 just then the door opened and- Agratha came 
 quickly towards them. She had dressed herself 
 in the pretty Dutch costume her father liked, her 
 eyes shone, her face beamed and she held out both 
 her hands, and in a low tender voice she pleaded: 
 
 " Fader, moeder, I am sorry ! Kiss me once, 
 and I will always be good." 
 
 Then so gladly they kissed her, and the mother 
 said : " Now this trouble is all over. We will 
 bury it forever. We will talk of it no more; 
 we will not even think of it." 
 
 " If thou had only trusted thy fader, Agratha," 
 and Ragel immediately repeated her unsympa 
 thetic :
 
 196 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " If them had only trusted thy daughter, Paul. 
 Perhaps it is our fault and not hers." 
 
 " Yes, fader," said Agratha, " if thou had only 
 trusted me, there would have been no secrets. I 
 should have taken Gael's first letter and the ring 
 that came with it to my moeder at once. Nothing 
 would I have written to Gael without her knowl 
 edge." 
 
 " Suppose now, Agratha, that this man should 
 come back here, and ask thee to marry him, what 
 would thou do ? " 
 
 " To thee, fader, I would send him, and I would 
 say to thee, ' Remember, dear fader, that Agratha 
 loves Gael, and would like to marry him." 
 
 "But thou would not marry him without thy 
 fader's and moeder's permission." 
 
 " Never. I am thy daughter." 
 
 " Swear it to me." 
 
 " I need not to swear. God hears what I say. 
 I will not go behind my promise. No man will I 
 marry without thine, and my moeder's good will 
 to it." 
 
 " That is enough, Dear One. Thou hast made 
 me happy." 
 
 " Now moeder, may I set the table for thee ? 
 I have not eat much good food for three days, 
 and I am hungry." 
 
 So according to Ragel's desire the affair was 
 buried. But if we bury a wrong that is alive, it 
 does not lie quietly ; and the dispute though never
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 197 
 
 named lay, crouching in each heart, and at any 
 unforeseen moment it might come to resurrection. 
 We know that the scar that closes a physical 
 wound can never be obliterated, by any means 
 known to man fire nor water nor the knife, nor 
 the lapse of years, nor the wear and tear of life; 
 and the scar left by a wound on the heart, has 
 a like, if not a greater, endurance. It may last 
 for eternity, if likelihoods rule. So, though the 
 offense was said to be forgiven and forgotten, it 
 was not forgotten. It was only bound by silence. 
 A word or two might release and give it a fresh 
 power of inflicting suspicion and sorrow. But 
 of this contingency no one thought a good thing, 
 since the feeling must be rare indeed, which can 
 bear analysing and remain thoroughly respect 
 able. 
 
 The supper was a happy meal. Perhaps the 
 slight restraint of a recent reconciliation was 
 evident to all, but it was well ignored. In honour 
 of the circumstances, Ragel took out her besti 
 sweetmeats and also placed a dish of Nativity; 
 pies on the table, though it was unusual to serve 
 them until Christmas Eve. They talked of the 
 Governor, and of the dinner to be given him, 
 of the full dress suit Van Ruyven would wear, 
 and a little wearily of the relief it would be when 
 the Governor's party were safely on board The 
 Abraham's Sacrifice. And after supper Agratha 
 brought her mandolin, and sang to her father the
 
 198 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 songs he loved best, especially two or three by 
 Jacob Steendam the famous Dutch poet living 
 near them. Steendam wrote fine sea verses, and 
 when Agratha came to the following, Van Ruyven 
 roused himself, and his strong sweet voice led 
 Agratha's in its ringing realities. 
 
 " Ye ploughers of the ocean, 
 
 And harrowers of the sea, 
 
 The ship Deventer goes before, 
 
 And with the Roe sail we, 
 
 And the Swan and Hind we see. 
 
 To the Guinea coast of Africa we hie, 
 
 To the golden Moorish land, 
 
 Wherein God's mighty hand, 
 
 Hath planted our dominion far and nigh." 
 
 " I met Steendam to-day," said Van Ruyven, 
 when the music ceased. " He is a good song 
 writer, but he is a good trader for all that." 
 
 " Dear Rose McAlpine admired him very 
 much," answered Agratha. " She set many of his 
 songs to music, even the one we have just sung. 
 She said also that he looked like a poet, with his 
 fine hair parted in the centre, his large white brow, 
 splendid eyes, and sweet expression. And then 
 I always reminded her of his pretty falling collar, 
 with its double cord and tassels." 
 
 " All the same, little girl," said Van Ruyven, 
 " he is a wise, profitable trader, and he stands
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 199 
 
 high with the Company. And surely the sea is 
 what he ought to write of. For he was born at 
 Eukhuysen, a city standing at the entrance of the 
 Zuyder Zee, in a world of waters. I have been 
 there, Agratha. It is a pleasant city of great 
 stone houses, filled with ship builders, pilots, sea 
 men and fishermen. In 1572 it was the first city 
 in Holland to raise the standard of liberty against 
 the Spanish oppression. The ships built there 
 find their way to every part of the world, there 
 was one in our harbour a month ago called * The 
 Maid of Eukhuysen.' * 
 
 In such reminiscent conversation, the evening 
 passed, and the next day was one of pleasant 
 preparation in every house. Van Ruyven went 
 to his business as usual, but for that he had two 
 good reasons. First, he did not wish to appear 
 either to his family or the public excited or anx 
 ious about " the great and gay repast." He pre 
 ferred to treat the affair as an ordinary event. 
 Second, he knew that he could depend on his wife 
 having everything for his dignity and personal 
 fitness in thorough preparation. Ragel would 
 forget nothing. 
 
 And it would have been difficult to say what 
 could have been added to his appearance as he left 
 his home for the Council Chamber. A veryj 
 handsome and majestic figure he made, in his 
 black velvet suit, fine Flemish laces, and his full 
 bottomed curled white wig. His wife and daugh-
 
 200 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 ter watched him away with infinite affection and 
 complacency and were sure there would not be 
 another guest at the feast to compare with him. 
 
 But of course they had not seen the Governor 
 in his canary-coloured breeches, white satin vest, 
 and purple velvet coat, the Company's colours 
 across his breast, the Company's diamonds on his 
 hand, and a purple silk cap embroidered with gold 
 stars upon his head. Everyone, however, wore 
 their finest clothing, and in those days the two 
 words meant all they suggested. It did not then 
 take a room full of women to make a kaleidoscope 
 of colour and splendid effects, a room full of men 
 in full dress could make the same impression of 
 magnificence perhaps even a greater one. 
 
 Soon after Van Ruyven had left them, Ragel 
 and her daughter had the comfortable cup of tea 
 so welcome as an accompaniment to conversation. 
 But though they talked of many things, they 
 never spoke of Gael Mclvar, and Agratha thought 
 her mother always changed a subject, which she 
 feared might lead to a recollection of the young 
 man. This feeling finally made her weary, she 
 could not take any interest in what interested her 
 mother, and when ten o'clock struck, and her 
 father had not returned, she pleaded fatigue and 
 received a ready permission to go to her room. 
 For her lassitude and half-concealed ennui had 
 infected Madame, and she was glad to be free from 
 an influence so dispiriting.
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 201 
 
 Very soon afterwards Van Ruyven came home, 
 and according to his usual custom, he sat down 
 to smoke a pipe before retiring. " Ragel," he 
 said, " wine does not take its place," and he 
 touched his pipe affectionately ; " as for company, 
 the more there is of it, the more you want your 
 pipe. That is so." 
 
 " Did you have a good feast, Paul? " 
 
 " Thou could have made a better one." 
 
 " There is little doubt of that, Paul, for I heard 
 that old Margery Fairborn had the cooking of it. 
 What does she know about the dishes Dutchmen 
 like?" 
 
 " Well then, we had some good English dishes 
 a fine chine of roast beef, and the most deliciously y 
 cooked sucking pig ever I tasted." 
 
 " Now Paul, mind thy words. I have roasted 
 thee a good many sucking pigs, and no one, no one, 
 can roast one better than Ragel Van Ruyven." 
 
 " I will tell thee how Margery Fairborn's was 
 better. It was roasted as thou never roasted one. 
 Every man present spoke of its peculiar flavour, 
 and it was well two pigs had been prepared, or 
 some of us would not have had enough. The 
 Governor wanted to drink a toast to it, and so we 
 did, every man of us." 
 
 " And by that time, you must all have had 
 enough of whatever you were drinking. Such 
 foolishness ! " 
 
 " The rest was like all other feasts."
 
 202 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " But thou hast not told me how the pig was 
 roasted." 
 
 " I thought it was not in thy care, or pleasure." 
 
 " Paul, I always like to hear what changes can 
 be made. That belongs to a good housewife." 
 
 " So! Well then, it was roasted before a fire 
 made of juniper wood and rosemary branches, 
 and it was lifted the moment the eyes fell out, for 
 then it was done to a turn, and another moment 
 would have reduced its fine flavour. That is what 
 we were told. Some of the English women are 
 good cooks." 
 
 " It may be so. I have never seen one. Let 
 it pass, the subject is not interesting. Did thow 
 hear why the Governor goes to the West Indies ? " 
 
 " Abraham Blaankaert asked him that question, 
 and for a moment he looked annoyed and angry 
 but he finally answered : ' I am going, Blaan 
 kaert, to establish a commerce between the Span 
 ish Plantations and the city of New Amsterdam. 
 There is a rich traffic there, and we ought to have 
 it!' 
 
 " ' The Spanish Plantations ! ' replied Blaan 
 kaert. ' Will you trade with the men our fore 
 fathers fought with to the death? ' 
 
 " ' They are the very men to trade with. This 
 is a great trade, it may be made to yield one hun 
 dred or more per cent. wines, spirits, gunpowder, 
 slaves and the like. We can charge at our will, 
 or according to the circumstances of the men who
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 203 
 
 purchase such things. It is a trade to be done 
 only with enemies, no man would like to do it with 
 his friends. So here is to the trade with our old 
 Spanish enemies ! ' and I really think we all drank 
 Jo the toast." 
 
 " Oh, Paul, any toast would warrant your 
 glasses, when you got that far." 
 
 " Then Stuyvesant said, * We can get even 
 with them by the balance, as well as the sword, 
 and the balance is good enough for such murder 
 ing, malignant, papistical souls ! ' " 
 
 " Was the McAlpine there? " 
 
 " Chief of the Company. After supper he 
 fiddled like an angel." 
 
 "Paul, what art thou saying? Too many 
 toasts of all kinds thou hast drunk. Dost thou 
 believe there will be fiddles in heaven ? " 
 
 " Well, then, I will say McAlpine fiddled like a 
 mountebank." 
 
 " Which is more likely ! " 
 
 " And Jacob Steendam sang, and there was 
 much story telling." 
 
 "What kind of stories?" 
 , " Not worth repeating to thee foolish stories." 
 
 "That is likely who told them?" 
 
 "Everybody, the Governor in particular. He 
 tells a good story, and he sang also, and was very 
 jovial indeed. And finally he sang himself into 
 such good humour, that he gave the City Council 
 the City Seal, they have so long waited for."
 
 204 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 "What is it like?" 
 
 " Nearly like the City Seal of old Amsterdam, 
 only we have a beaver for the crest, and the letters 
 C. W. C. for the West India Company. Every 
 one was delighted, and they cheered the old man 
 all the way home to the Fort." 
 
 "He sails to-morrow, I hope?" 
 
 " To-morrow at three o'clock, the tide serves, 
 and he will drop down the river with it." 
 
 " Thank goodness ! A great fuss has been 
 made about eating and drinking, and some talk, 
 that is not worth repeating." 
 
 " Well then, Ragel, there was one thing said 
 worth repeating, and I shall always think the bet 
 ter of Stuyvesant for the saying of it." 
 
 " I wonder! What was it? " 
 
 " That old bachelor, Sibout Winckel, began to 
 tell a story that put women on a low level his 
 own level likely and as soon as the Governor sus 
 pected its meaning, he said a very peremptory 
 'Hush h A-.' ' There are no women present,' 
 said Winckel, and Stuyvesant answered, * There 
 are fathers, and husbands and brothers, and sons 
 present, and gentlemen all, I hope.' Then he 
 stood up, and continued ' I am a man of years, 
 and experience, and I swear by the Almighty, that 
 in my judgment of men, I have never gone wrong 
 if I judge a man as he judged women. To all 
 the women in New Amsterdam ! ' he cried, ' and 
 fill your glasses, gentlemen.' And as soon as the
 
 THE SOWING OF SORROW 205 
 
 toast was drunk, McAlpine started that old Eng 
 lish song, about the blushing maiden of fifteen, 
 and the widow of fifty thou knowest it and we 
 all joined in the singing even Winckel himself. 
 So when it was over, he had had some grace given 
 him, and he stood up, and made his excuses to 
 the Governor and all present and promised he 
 would prove his conversion, by taking a wife 
 within one month." 
 
 " Sibout Winckel will never do it." 
 
 " We shall see. I think he will ; any way there 
 was a great shouting and laughter, when Stuyves- 
 ant answered * If thou, Winckel, can get a decent 
 woman to have thee, keep thy word ; and thou may 
 tell thy wife, when thou hast got her that I, 
 Peter Stuyvesant, will bring her from the West 
 Indies, a rattan cradle for a wedding gift.' ' 
 
 " Now then," said Ragel, " he has called his 
 own marriage, and that nice little girl he has 
 been hot and cold with for ten years, may get 
 some justice done her." 
 
 " So! It is right." 
 
 " It is the best thing I ever heard of Stuyves 
 ant." 
 
 " Well then, nobody could make him sit still, 
 and be silent, and listen to what was honourable 
 made dishonourable, or what was pure made filthy. 
 There was much loose talking, but no one else said 
 such things as are sometimes said when Stuyves 
 ant is not there."
 
 206 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 The next morning it seemed as if the city had 
 given itself a holiday. There were no attempts 
 at business, unless where necessity demanded it. 
 The streets were busy with people hastening here 
 and there, with hands and arms full of baskets 
 or evergreens, and continually calling out Christ 
 mas greetings to passers-by. As the day ad 
 vanced, the English settlers were seen in merry 
 groups dragging home their Yule logs, and carol 
 ling joyfully as they did so ; while the uncurtained 
 windows of the Dutch houses showed the women 
 setting out the Christmas trees, and filling their 
 pleasant rooms with fire and candle light. 
 
 In the misty afternoon the Governor and his 
 party went on board The Abraham's Sacrifice 
 amid the ringing of bells, and the booming of can 
 non, the beating of drums and the blare of trum 
 pets. The fog gathered quickly and there was 
 snow on the wind's wet wings as the stately old 
 man lifted his hat in a mute farewell to the crowd. 
 He was answered by a ringing cheer of good-will 
 and good wishes, and then the throng scattered 
 quickly to their happy homes in all the pleasant 
 streets of New Amsterdam. For it was 
 
 "Christmas Day in the Morning! 9 '
 
 CHAPTER EIGHT 
 
 LORD MC IVAR'S OFFER 
 
 IT was an unusually gay Christmas, and Lady 
 Moody and Madame Van Ruyven made up their 
 difference of opinion over a gold chatelaine, which 
 Lady Moody presented to her friend on Christ 
 mas morning. 
 
 " It is the ornament I have wanted for years, 
 idear Deborah," she exclaimed, " the thing I longed 
 for, but never hoped to get until I went to Hol 
 land or England. How did you manage it? " 
 
 " I sent my chatelaine to Boston, where there 
 is a good goldsmith, and told him to make a 
 chatelaine exactly like it. He has done it well, 
 I think. 
 
 "Oh, my dear friend!" 
 
 " Yes, Ragel, we are friends. A few cross 
 words do not count eh, my dear ? " 
 
 " No indeed ! Also, when you and I come to 
 cross words, we are both right, and both wrong. 
 That is the way of it." 
 
 So the winter momths passed very gaily, but 
 as Spring approached everyone appeared to be 
 tired of their holiday. Men went back gladly to 
 their stores, and ships, and handicrafts, and on 
 every hand the women were grumbling at the 
 
 207
 
 808 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 wastrie and extravagance, the constant use of 
 their best parlours, and their best clothing, and 
 the discomfort of the men loitering so much about 
 the house. 
 
 And as soon as business became brisk again, 
 men began to grumble, first cautiously, but grad 
 ually with a firmer note. They did not like the 
 Vice Governor De Sille, they wanted their scold 
 ing, scoffing, dictatorial Stuyvesant back again. 
 A City Council meeting was no longer an event to 
 be anticipated with excitement and pleasure. De 
 Sille was suave and polite. No one could get an 
 altercation out of him. If opposition was made, 
 he smiled and shrugged his shoulders, and who 
 could quarrel with smiles and shrugs? 
 
 Yet there were circumstances in which De Sille 
 could have indulged himself with smiles and shrugs 
 unlimited, if he had only recognised the condition, 
 This he failed to do, and in this failure consum 
 mated all minor failures he did not " water the 
 pigeons," he refused to see that there were any 
 pigeons to water, a blindness fatal to a politician, 
 even in those early days of the present New 
 York. 
 
 Stuyvesant had never been so ungentlemanly 
 as to make investigations and inquiries; he had 
 taken it for granted that there would be per 
 quisites and gratuities, frankly accepted those 
 that came by way of his office, and not been in 
 quisitive concerning those that went in other
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 209 
 
 directions. They missed also the personal mag 
 netism of the man, the stimulant to business there 
 was in his presence, the pulling up tight of their 
 individualities, which was the result of his dom 
 ineering personal way, the catching quality in 
 his resounding laugh, the astonishing power of his 
 unanswerable adjectives, the very thump of his 
 wooden leg on the wooden floors, and the stony 
 streets, yes, they missed even his bright breeches, 
 and fine slashed sleeves, and white falling collar 
 and tassels. 
 
 In spite of his mutilated form he had a dignity 
 and an authority beyond all other men in New 
 Amsterdam, and when strangers visited their city 
 the officials were a little ashamed of the small 
 polite Frenchman, who stood in the place of their 
 splendidly majestic Stuyvesant. 
 
 " We are sorry, gentlemen," they would say 
 with an air of apology, " but our Governor is away 
 en State business. He would have made every 
 thing different, if he had been here." 
 
 For they knew he would have done so. If the 
 visitors had been of importance he would have 
 feasted them royally, and talked to them so 
 grandiloquently of the resources and advantages 
 of New Netherland, that purchase or settlement 
 would have ensued. But if De Sille did any of 
 this kind of work, he did it individually, and no 
 one but De Sille knew what profits accrued to the 
 agent in the matter.
 
 210 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 They felt this to be a wrong. They were kept 
 too much in the dark. Stuyvesant's frankness, 
 even if it represented no guilders, was much more 
 agreeable. It at least supplied them with con 
 versation, and gave them opportunities of reflect 
 ing on the Governor's want of tact, and their own 
 superior understandings. So they wanted their 
 tyrannical Governor to come back to them, and 
 the desire grew and spread until the whole city; 
 was possessed by the same longing. But the 
 winter passed, and nothing was officially heard 
 from the little fleet that had sailed away so joy 
 ously on Christmas Eve. 
 
 To people as dissatisfied as were the burghers 
 of New Amsterdam, that Spring, the wheels of life 
 ran slowly, but perhaps slowest of all to Agratha 
 Van Ruyven. On the eighth of March, Lord Mc- 
 Ivar had come to his majority, and he had prom 
 ised in his last letter to follow that date as quickly 
 as possible. But it was now the end of April, and 
 no other letter had come to her. She was heart 
 sick, and she was physically sick also pale and 
 spiritless, eating little and sleeping less. Doctors 
 came and looked at her, and said things about 
 malaria and spring fever, and gave her huge doses 
 of Jesuit's bark, which did her no good. She 
 slipped away from all society, and was usually 
 to be found lying motionless and dejected upon 
 her bed. 
 
 Van Ruyven was wretched, he thought she was
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 
 
 going into a decline, and talked of taking her to 
 the Bermudas. 
 
 " Let her alone," said Madame. " If a certain 
 letter would come, she would need no medicine, 
 and if Lord Mclvar would show himself in New 
 Amsterdam, Agratha would not leave it, even for 
 the New Jerusalem." 
 
 " Ragel, I like not to hear you mention the New 
 Jerusalem in that irreverent way, and if I thought 
 Mclvar was the cause of her sickness, we would 
 leave here to-morrow. I am glad you mentioned 
 him. Suppose you take Agratha to visit her 
 sister at Albany." 
 
 " I will not go to Albany just now, Paul. Ger 
 trude is house cleaning I suppose, and we should 
 be most uncomfortable amid the noisy children, 
 and the hubbub Gertrude always makes about 
 that business. Albany is out of our consider 
 ing. Think for a moment, if Mclvar comes thus 
 far to see Agratha, he will not be stopped by a sail 
 up the river to Albany. No, indeed ! " 
 
 " But the child is sick. She needs change of 
 air. The doctors say so." 
 
 " She can go to Lady Moody." 
 
 " If thou go with her, not without. Mclvar 
 is kin to Lady Moody. I will not trust her with 
 out thee." 
 
 " Well then, I would like two weeks' rest before 
 I pull the house to pieces, so I will write to Lady 
 Moody, and see what she says about it."
 
 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Do so, Ragel. Make no mistakes concern 
 ing it. I have a feeling of hurry on this matter." 
 
 " I can see neither hurry nor worry necessary. 
 Agratha will be well as soon as she gets a letter 
 from Lord McT ar or sees him. That is my 
 judgment. If uiou had taken my advice, and 
 allowed the dear child to have her letters, there 
 would have been no sickness, and no anxiety." 
 
 Just as Madame Van Ruyven was writing her 
 letter to Lady Moody she entered the Van Ruyven 
 parlour. " Your servant, Madame ! " she said 
 cheerfully. " I am come to beg your company 
 for a short time. You must know that my son, 
 Sir Henry, has gone to Virginia." 
 
 "But no! Truly, we have not heard of such 
 a thing." 
 
 " Ha, my dear, that is the De Sille's policy ! 
 What he makes by it, I hope he knows, for no one 
 else pretends to. Sir Henry has gone on a polit 
 ical mission, but though he was in an agitation 
 about the business, I assure you the city is quite 
 ignorant of his journey. His valet and myself 
 walked down to the ship with him, and I do not 
 believe that three persons in New Amsterdam 
 knew that Sir Henry Moody was going on an im 
 portant mission to the Governor of Virginia." 
 
 " If Peter Stuyvesant had been sending 
 him " 
 
 " Ah, that would have been a different affair ! " 
 cried Lady Moody impulsively. " There would
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 213 
 
 have been a guard of soldiers from the Fort to 
 accompany Sir Henry to his ship; there would 
 have been trumpeters in advance, and the roll of 
 drums to march to, and certainly the roar of can 
 non as the ship bearing the Company's ambassa 
 dor lifted her anchor. I wish Stuyvesant would 
 come back. Since he went, all the wonderfuls are 
 worn out, and New Amsterdam is as stupid as 
 Salem or Boston. I am lonely, will you and 
 Agratha go back to Gravesend with me? " 
 
 This affair was quickly settled, and Agratha 
 was pleased at the prospect; for she did not for 
 get to tell herself that Mclvar would be likely 
 to touch at Gravesend, before reaching New Ams 
 terdam. The next morning they all went to Lady 
 Moody's sloop together. It was a sweet, cool 
 May morning, and the scent of the lilacs filled the 
 streets, but Van Ruyven was depressed and silent. 
 The visit had been planned and carried out with 
 a haste that left him unhappy and helpless. He 
 would gladly have withdrawn his consent, and 
 taken the storm of feminine reproaches resulting, 
 but he saw that Agratha was happy in the change, 
 and he delayed and delayed the withdrawal he 
 contemplated, until the ladies were on board, and 
 he standing on the pier watching them sail away 
 from him. Lady Moody and Madame Van Ruy 
 ven soon went to the little cabin, but Agratha 
 stood at the taffrail, and waved her hand to her 
 father as long as she could see him.
 
 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 \ 
 
 Did no Inner Voice in those few moments 
 whisper, " Look long, Van Ruyven, for many sad 
 days shall pass ere you see your daughter's face 
 again." No. Paul received neither warning nor 
 counsel from any Power higher than his own in 
 telligence, for he was a purely material man, his 
 soul barely touched the rim of the spiritual life. 
 He never recognised presentiment or foreboding; 
 the prophecying dreams knew him not, signs and 
 superstitions of all kinds he ridiculed; there was 
 no side of his outer life which his Inner Life could 
 inform; the sharply defined conscious life he knew 
 fairly well, but of the haunting life below it, he 
 knew nothing at all. 
 
 Two weeks passed quietly away, and Paul heard 
 nothing but good reports from Gravesend. 
 Agratha had recovered her health and beauty, and 
 Madame also declared she had renewed her youth. 
 On the Monday morning of the third week of their 
 visit, Lady Moody met them at the breakfast table 
 in her travelling dress. 
 
 " Ragel," she said, " you may notice that I am 
 ready for a sea trip. I heard last night that all 
 the seed corn put away for this spring planting is 
 spoiled, and the land is now ready and waiting 
 for the seed. I must go to New Amsterdam to 
 day for a fresh supply. Who will go with me, 
 and who will remain here? " 
 
 " I wish to stay here," answered Agratha. 
 
 " Well then, Deborah, I will go with you. I
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 215 
 
 can run home and see that the house is going on 
 right, and that my husband is not neglected. 
 How long shall we be away ? " 
 
 " This night only. Sometime to-morrow we 
 shall make Gravesend again." 
 
 " Then Agratha and Ladarine would be alone 
 to-night." 
 
 " My dear, by no means. James Hubbard and 
 his wife will come over here at the darkening, and 
 remain until morning." 
 
 " I should never think of being afraid, if Lad 
 arine was with me," said Agratha. " Is there any 
 need for the Hubbards to come? Mr. Hubbard 
 makes such long prayers, and Ladarine does not 
 like him." 
 
 " I know, Agratha," answered Lady Moody. 
 " Ladar Jne would enjoy being alone, and while 
 so, have the Indians to fight off the place. I am 
 opposed to Ladarine making a heroine of herself. 
 I cannot spare her scalp, it implies too much loss 
 of every kind." 
 
 " Is there any fear of an Indian attack ? " asked 
 Madame Van Ruyven. 
 
 " Not any, Ragel, unless they have found out 
 that Governor Stuyvesant is away. They both 
 fear and love Stuyvesant, because he has always 
 been absolutely just to them. Justice is what 
 they understand. The Long Island Indians are 
 a proud race, and Stuyvesant won them by re 
 specting their peculiarities. He has eat and
 
 216 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 drank and smoked with them, and this treatment 
 has pacified them, where powder and shot failed." 
 
 " I do not know whether I ought to leave 
 Agratha," said Madame Van Ruyven. 
 
 " Why then, upon my word Agratha is as safe 
 here as on your own hearthstone. I shall go 
 straight to the Stillwells', and Nicholas will have 
 the bags of corn I require shipped early in the 
 morning. We may be back here by one o'clock, 
 and Ladarine must have a good dinner ready for 
 us." 
 
 So there was a little flurry of hurry and ex 
 citement, until the two ladies were on the water; 
 then a pleasant stillness settled over the big 
 house, as Agratha brought her bit of lace work 
 beside the big Yorkshire woman, and very soon 
 they began talking about Gael Mclvar. And it 
 so happened that Agratha's confidence went 
 further than she intended, and Ladarine heard the 
 whole story of the detained letters and gifts. 
 
 " It was a shame," she replied, " and I don't 
 mind saying so. Thy father shouldn't have done 
 it ; it wasn't fair of him." 
 
 At the very hour that Ladarine uttered this 
 condemnation of Van Ruyven, Gael Mclvar en 
 tered his warehouse, and was taken to his private 
 room. Van Ruyven appeared to be lost in a 
 column of figures, and he did not look up until 
 the total was reached. Then he turned and saw 
 Gael Mclvar. The handsome youth was like an 

 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 217 
 
 incarnation of Love and Hope, and his beauty and 
 apparent happiness was an offence 
 
 "I am just arrived, Councillor," he said, " and 
 I am glad to see you again. I hope Madame and 
 Miss Agratha are well." 
 
 " They are in Albany at present. I suppose 
 they are well." 
 
 " It is more than two years, Councillor, since 
 I saw you." 
 
 " I have much business this day but if per 
 haps there is something I can oblige you in? " 
 
 " Sir, I have come from Scotland purposely 
 to ask your permission to marry Miss Van Ruy- 
 yen." 
 
 " Indeed." 
 
 " I love her, Sir, beyond all words." 
 
 "Well then?" 
 
 11 1 wish to make her my wife at once." 
 
 " You want an impossibility. She can never 
 be your wife." 
 
 " Sir ! Sir ! You cannot mean what you 
 say!" 
 
 " The words I speak, I mean. That is my 
 way." 
 
 " Sir, I will not mention my own love, but let 
 me tell you, your daughter loves me." 
 
 " She does not. If she does, she must stop 
 loving you. I will see to that." 
 
 " She has promised to marry me." 
 
 " She can marry no one, without my consent."
 
 218 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Then, Sir, I entreat your consent." 
 
 " I will not permit her to marry until she is 
 twenty-one years old. Can you wait three 
 years ? " 
 
 " No. That would be an impossible wait. Sir 
 I can give your daughter high station, honours 
 and great wealth." 
 
 " I care nothing for such things." 
 
 " I have done fairly well at Oxford. I did not 
 leave without honours." 
 
 " That will be to your advantage." 
 
 " Sir, what have you against my claim on 
 Agratha's future ? " 
 
 " You have no claim on Miss Van Ruyven's 
 future." 
 
 " Her sure promise." 
 
 " It is worth nothing. She cannot redeem it." 
 
 " You must have some reason for such an un 
 just dislike as you appear to bear towards me. 
 Will you tell me what it is ? " 
 
 " I will. You are a Scot ! " and he lifted his 
 head as he spoke, and let his passion get the bet 
 ter of him. " All your people are selfish and 
 cruel. There was your bondman friend. He was 
 kindly treated by myself and all my family. 
 After he obtained his freedom, he never entered 
 my house or spoke to me again. He never saw 
 my wife and daughter if they were in the same 
 room with him. He was taken into the Van 
 Dams' family, he won Elsie's love, and got her to
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 219 
 
 marry him on a two weeks' acquaintance, then he 
 took her away from her mother, and insisted also 
 on Elsie's portion being paid to him; and so left 
 Madame to break her heart in poverty and lone 
 liness. What do you think of such conduct?" 
 
 " The circumstances were peculiar, and it is 
 the way of the world." 
 
 " It may be the way of the Scotch world, it is 
 not the way of the Dutch world." 
 
 " Is there anything I can say, or do, to win 
 your consideration, Councillor." 
 
 " Nothing. Agratha's marriage will not be in 
 my consideration for three years." 
 
 " Great Heaven ! You have a heart harder 
 than a stone." 
 
 " My daughter is dearer than life to me." 
 
 " I deny it. You have treated your daughter 
 cruelly, ever since I left her stolen her letters, 
 kept her gifts, and refused to give the poor child 
 the few words of comfort that would have spared 
 her hours of anxiety about me." 
 
 *' Lord Mclvar, you are out of the question. 
 This is a day of business, and I have more im 
 portant things to attend to, than your love 
 affairs." Then he rose in a passion, went to the 
 door, and flung it wide open. He did not speak, 
 but his imperative gesture was sufficient. 
 
 " You are beyond doubt, Sir, the most dis 
 courteous, as well as the most dishonourable of 
 men," said Mclvar, as he left the room, " but I
 
 220 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 shall go at once to Albany, and plead my cause 
 with Agratha. I will win her in spite of you. I 
 will win her, if I go to the gates of hell to win her." 
 
 Van Ruyven was crimson with rage, and trem 
 bling with his effort to control it. Mclvar was 
 also very wroth, but he preserved a gay debonair 
 manner, and smiled and spoke to the men he met 
 in the store in a careless tone, asking one of them, 
 where he could find a man capable of taking his 
 ship to Albany? 
 
 The man of whom this inquiry was made was 
 charmed with the young lord's urbanity, and 
 smiling good-will, and he offered to go with him 
 to Chris Jansen's the best pilot for any water, 
 near New Amsterdam. And Van Ruyven was 
 astounded and infuriated at Mclvar accepting the 
 services of one of his men ; though he told himself 
 at the moment, that Teunis Van Brugge was no 
 longer in his employ. 
 
 He found it impossible to go back to his figures. 
 He knew that he must go home, and get into its 
 solitude in order to collect and control his feel 
 ings. And he was no sooner on the street than 
 he remembered Ragel was not there to help him 
 in his trouble." 
 
 " It is the way things go," he muttered. " If 
 you want your wife, she is looking after some 
 other people. Ragel is getting to be a real wan- 
 derfoot, not in her own house for more than two 
 weeks now. I wish I had not let her go to Grave-
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 221 
 
 send. Lady Moody is an unmanageable woman 
 and also that fellow's cousin confound 
 him!" 
 
 He ordered his dinner to be hurried forward, 
 and sat down to consider his ways. Mclvar had 
 gone to Albany, he was sure of that, for he had 
 sent a trustworthy clerk to watch his movements, 
 and this man said he had seen Chris Jansen go 
 on board The Nautilus with Lord Mclvar, and 
 also watched the ship make her way to the North 
 River. 
 
 But that was not enough, he must have Agratha 
 under his own roof and control, and while he was 
 considering the wisdom of going himself to Grave- 
 send, Ragel entered the room. Never had Van 
 Ruyven been so thankful for her cheerful, sen 
 sible presence, and he immediately told her all his 
 trouble. 
 
 " And you sent him to Albany?" 
 
 " I did." 
 
 " I never knew you to tell a straight lie like 
 that before, Paul." 
 
 " I committed a little sin, to save a greater 
 one." 
 
 " Well then, it may be two weeks before he gets 
 back from Albany. We intend going to the 
 Hague in July, suppose we start at once." 
 
 "That idea I like, Ragel. The Great Chris 
 topher sails for Amsterdam in six days. Could 
 thou be ready?"
 
 222 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Could thou, Paul? " 
 
 " I can put Wim in my place. He knows the 
 business as well as I do. Did Agratha come with 
 thee? Where is she? " 
 
 " In Gravesend. I did not bring her, because 
 I am going back in the morning." 
 
 " But is Agratha alone down there? " 
 
 " There is the woman Ladarine with her, and 
 the Hubbards, and the whole settlement if she 
 wanted it. Lady Moody had to come to New 
 York for seed corn that was much needed. She 
 thought we might be in Gravesend again by noon 
 to-morrow." 
 
 " Where was Lady Moody going for the seed 
 corn? " 
 
 " To Nicholas Stillwell's warehouse." 
 
 " If Nicholas Stillwell has it to put on Lady 
 Moody's sloop, you will not get back to Grave- 
 send by noon. It will more likely be dark. 
 He is a slow man." 
 
 " Noon or dark, I will be there to-morrow, and 
 3 will bring Agratha home the next day." 
 
 " See that thou do that very thing. I shall be 
 miserable until she is here, in my home, and pres 
 ence." 
 
 " And in a week, we start for the Hague? " 
 
 " It is best so." 
 
 " There will be much to do. We must be here 
 On Wednesday." 
 
 " Remember, Ragel, that there are many fine
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 
 
 shops in Amsterdam and the Hague. Take only 
 your travelling clothes." 
 
 Just as Paul Van Ruyven and his wife Ragel 
 came to this conclusion, Lord Mclvar went to the 
 man at the wheel of The Nautilus. His face was 
 irresolute and dissatisfied, and he said, " Chris 
 Jansen, I am going among strangers, and you tell 
 me that we may meet plenty of hostile Indians. 
 Now, if I lose my life " 
 
 " Tut! Tut! Your life is in no danger." 
 
 " Well, if I never return to New Amsterdam, 
 I should like my mother and my relatives to know 
 what came of me. Governor Stuyvesant is un 
 fortunately away." 
 
 " Yes, my lord, but he may be home any day." 
 
 " Do you know Lady Moody ? " 
 
 " I rather think I do." 
 
 *' Do you see her often ? " 
 
 " I am at Gravesend three or four times a week. 
 She is in the city to-day trying to buy seed corn. 
 I spoke to her half an hour before you mentioned 
 the Albany trip to me. Madame Van Ruyven was 
 with her, but the young Miss was not. She went 
 to Gravescnd, because she was very sick, but I 
 heard them talk of coming home next Monday." 
 
 " Chris Jansen, do not take another length of 
 the boat. I am going to Gravesend. If you will 
 put me at Gravesend early to-morrow morning, 
 I will give you twenty sovereigns. You know the 
 way there? "
 
 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 * e My Lord, I could sail it blind." 
 
 " We will stay where we are, until twilight 
 makes all grey and confused. Then slip out to 
 sea. You must try and have me at Gravesend 
 yery early." 
 
 " I'll have you there at cock crow, Sir." 
 
 This promise was amply kept, and The Nautilus 
 jras at Gravesend in the glimmer of the dawning. 
 All was quiet and lonely as if the eyes of man 
 kind had never before looked upon the low, sandy 
 stretches. Mclvar paid Jansen, and as he did so 
 asked : 
 
 " Where do you go now, Jansen ? " 
 
 " I shall walk over to Flatbush, my Lord, and 
 get a bit of breakfast with my daughter who lives 
 there. After that, I shall turn my face Boston 
 ways, for a month or two. I have a son there, I 
 have not seen for six years, I am needing a holi 
 day, and your Lordship's generosity gives me the 
 power to take one." 
 
 " Then you are not likely to be in New Amster 
 dam for a few weeks ? " 
 
 * If you say a few months, you will come closer 
 to the time 'tis likely." 
 
 * That is good. You can talk then, if you 
 wish." 
 
 " My Lord, I can live without talking, especially 
 about business that does not concern me." 
 
 " You are a wise man, Jansen," and he pressed 
 a couple more sovereigns into the man's willing
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 225 
 
 palm. Then they parted with mutual satisfac 
 tion. 
 
 As for Gael Mclvar, he was still in a mood 
 which this, or that, might change. His good and 
 evil nature were at war, and their forces were 
 evenly balanced. He stood still a few moments 
 watching Jansen out of sight, and then let his eyes 
 fall upon the home of Lady' Moody. The fairest 
 and dearest of women to him was under its roof, 
 and to think of her was to long irresistibly to be 
 with her. There was nothing this morning to 
 prevent his desire, and he went hastily to his 
 cabin, and after an examination of much hand 
 some clothing, he selected a new sailor suit of blue 
 cloth, with its flowing necktie, and the blue cap. 
 He felt that his kilt and phila-beg, his eagle tipped 
 Glengary, and his jewelled dirk would be too de 
 monstratively Scotch that it might become a vic 
 tor, but that the modest blue sailor suit was more 
 proper for a suitor. And at that moment he 
 could feel how his magnificent, outlandish dress 
 with the air of authority anc superiority which 
 he could not help assuming with it, might have 
 roused every sentiment of enmity and contempt in 
 the worldly practical Van Ruyven against him. 
 
 He admitted frankly to himself that in a ware 
 house crowded with barrels of whale oil, salted 
 fish, and meats, and all kinds of ship chandlery 
 it was out of place and character. " If the shop 
 had been full of muskets and powder, and powder
 
 226 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 horns," he thought, " of fishing tackle, and trout 
 rods and lines, with a few stag antlers of twelve 
 points in short, if it had been like McBean's shop 
 in Inverness, my kilt would not have been an 
 offence. It would have said, I'm going to the 
 hills to get a deer, and a few trout, and no one 
 would have thought wrong of a kilt on the hills; 
 but when you stand in a place that recalls only 
 Iceland, and Greenland ice and snow, a kilt does 
 not seem natural for once, I was not properly 
 dressed." 
 
 There was a moment's pause and then he al 
 most shouted : " No, by Heaven ! I was exactly 
 right. The great high place for a kilt and phila- 
 beg is the battlefield, and if the words said by Van 
 Ruyven in that oily room were not a challenge of 
 battle, there never was one. Yes, and if he had 
 not said one word, that laugh of his, as he shut 
 the door after me, was a challenge that will ring 
 in my soul, until I have him at my feet. Come 
 then, Gael, make your first move." 
 
 After he was dressed he walked slowly to Lady 
 Moody's house. Ladarine had opened the double 
 front door, and he could hear her moving about 
 the kitchen. He went into the living room and 
 sat down. Presently Ladarine came in with the 
 damask and silver for the breakfast table in her 
 hands, and she cried out: 
 
 " Lord Mclvar ! Well, I never ! No, I never 
 did. When did you come ? "
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 227 
 
 " Five minutes ago. Tell Miss Van Ruyven." 
 
 " I'm just going to tell her. My word, she 
 will be astonished ! " and she ran to the foot of the 
 stairs, crying: 
 
 " Agratha, who do you think is here ? Come 
 down? Come down quick! You will be de 
 lighted, you will that ! " 
 
 "Who is it, Lada? Moeder?" 
 
 " Someone better than moeder. Come and 
 see!" 
 
 Perhaps Agratha divined the truth, or per 
 haps she had heard Gael's voice, at any rate after 
 an interval she came down dressed in a pretty 
 pink frock, with an underwaist of line Delhi mus 
 lin, so fine and white, that the blush on her lovely 
 throat and neck could be seen through it. Her 
 small feet were in bronze sandals, and her bright 
 hair lay in waves and curls around her exquisite 
 face and shoulders. There was a pink ribbon 
 through her hair, and a white rose at her waist, 
 and she was altogether sweet and fresh as an 
 apple blossom in the first hour of its birth. Gael 
 heard her footsteps on the stairs, and ran to 
 meet her, catching her in his arms as she reached 
 the hall floor. 
 
 " Oh my darling ! My blessed darling ! " he 
 cried ; " at last ! at last ! Let me see your lovely 
 face ! Hold it up, and let me see it, dearest ! " 
 
 Lada looked at him severely. " My Lord," she 
 said, " will you have breakfast with us ? "
 
 228 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " That is what I am expecting, Lada." 
 
 " And if you please, what would you like for a 
 relish? " 
 
 " Have you any Yorkshire ham of your own 
 curing? " 
 
 " As it happens, we have, my Lord. I will do 
 you a rasher, and a couple of eggs poached would 
 be suitable with it." 
 
 " Everything is suitable this morning, Lada. 
 I am in heaven, and Yorkshire ham, and poached 
 eggs, will be angel's food. It is the company 
 that makes the difference, is it not, sweetest 
 Agratha? " 
 
 It was a wonderful breakfast, and during it 
 Gael described his new boat, and the special suite 
 he had prepared for Agratha, if their marriage 
 took place at once : " Of which heavenly event 
 there is, I am sure, no doubt," he said. 
 
 " I fear my fader, Gael, will wish to have some 
 delays." 
 
 " Your father, Sweet, cannot resist your 
 mother and yourself. I must win your mother 
 to-night." 
 
 " Moeder is so kind, she will not be hard to 
 win." 
 
 " Let us now walk down to the ship, before the 
 day gets hot. Come, Lada, we must have your 
 company." 
 
 " Then you must stop at home to have it. My 
 Lady and Madame Van Ruyven will be home for
 
 LORD MdVAR'S OFFER 229 
 
 dinner at one o'clock, and dinner must be readVj 
 for them." 
 
 " But, Lada," urged Mclvar, " it is only half- 
 past seven. It will not take us more than one 
 hour to walk to the ship, look through her, and 
 return here. Certainly you can spare us one 
 hour." 
 
 After much persuasion Lada agreed to put for 
 ward her house work, and be ready to go with 
 them to The Nautilus at nine o'clock. So the 
 lovers sat down on the vine-shaded piazza, and 
 Lada hurried away full of business, and not quite 
 sure that she was doing right to allow Agratha 
 to go anywhere with Lord Mclvar, even under 
 her scrutiny and protection. 
 
 It was a little after nine before Ladarine was 
 ready, and Agratha explained privately to Gael 
 that Lada never went anywhere though but to a 
 neighbour's house without putting on her black 
 stuff gown ; " and I am sure, Gael," she added, 
 " that peculiarity is in some way connected with 
 her money; for she will not trust anyone with 
 her savings, not even the Governor or Lady 
 Moody. She says they would be careless of a 
 poor servant's money." 
 
 " Perhaps they would but here she comes." 
 
 The walk was not one Ladarine wanted, in fact 
 the whole ship business was against her personal 
 wishes; it interfered with her household duties, 
 it compelled her to undress, and redress herself, it
 
 230 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 left her kitchen fire in an uncertain state for the 
 beef she had to roast on her return, and she cared 
 nothing about the ship, and its wonderful arrange 
 ments and fine furnishings. However as soon as 
 she was on board, she gave way to all a woman's 
 curiosity, and was so interested in all she saw, 
 that she forgot how quickly time can go. For 
 she had found ready to entertain her a very pleas 
 ant Scotch woman, who acted as a kind of 
 stewardess or shipkeeper, and they had sat down 
 over a glass of toddy, and talked over the ad 
 vantages, comforts and blessings of the Old 
 Country, in comparison with the New. 
 
 In the mean time Agratha, having seen with de 
 light the nest of beauty and comfort Love had 
 prepared for her, was discussing with Gael the 
 probabilities of their early marriage, and it was 
 then he asked her the question which he felt must 
 decide his movements. 
 
 " Agratha, my Dear One, suppose your father 
 will not yield to your mother's and your own re 
 quest, will you marry me without his consent? " 
 
 " I have promised fader I would never marry 
 anyone without his consent. I could not break 
 my word." 
 
 " If you love me, you would forget that prom 
 ise." 
 
 " So impossible that would be ! If I break rny 
 word to my fader, how could you trust me? " 
 
 From this position, plead as he would, Agratha
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 231 
 
 could not be moved, and he felt angry with her. 
 " Do you know that you are unreasonable, and 
 unkind? " he asked. 
 
 " Well, then, I am not dishonourable," she an 
 swered. 
 
 And at that moment Memory pealed in his soul 
 Van Ruyven's scornful laugh, and he looked in 
 tently at Agratha, and thought : " She has her 
 father's stubborn will. I will take my own way." 
 
 Scarcely had he made this resolution, when 
 Ladarine entered with an urgent request for an 
 immediate return. " I have been talking when 
 I ought to have been watching the clock, and if it 
 please you, Lord Mclvar, you must give orders 
 for some hurry. Come, Agratha ! " 
 
 " In five minutes I will have the gangway put 
 right," he answered, and he ran up the compan 
 ion way, and as soon as he reached the deck, 
 shouted an order in Gaelic, which was answered 
 with wild assent, and rapid movements. 
 
 All the pleasure had gone out of Ladarine's 
 face, she looked cross and anxious, and as she 
 stood waiting, Someone whispered a word in her 
 soul that filled her with terror. She ran to the 
 deck, and saw that the ship had loosed her cable, 
 and was already turned to the ocean. Every sail 
 was set, and no gangway could bridge the dis 
 tance between sea and land. Mclvar stood by 
 the mainmast, issuing rapid orders, but it was not 
 a Mclvar she had ever before seen. Absolute au-
 
 232 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORE 
 
 thority, power not to be disputed, clothed him like 
 a garment, and his words resonant, sibilant and 
 unknown to her, acted on the sailors like magic. 
 
 Yet she walked straight to him, and said : " You 
 scoundrel ! You are carrying off Agratha ! " 
 
 " Yes," he answered curtly. 
 
 " Oh my God, what shall I do ! " 
 
 Agratha had divined some trouble, and was 
 standing white and terrified at the foot of the 
 companion way. 
 
 "What is it, Lada?" she asked. 
 
 " He is carrying you away, Agratha ! He is 
 carrying you away ! " 
 
 Then Agratha made a desperate effort to reach 
 the deck, but motion failed her, and with a pierc 
 ing shriek she fell as if smitten by lightning. 
 
 Oh what words could tell the horror of that 
 long, sunny day upon the pitiless, lonely ocean; 
 and the deeper horror of the dark night, when 
 the wind and the tramp of feet and the hoarse calls 
 of men and the creaking cordage added their 
 strange terrors to the two bewildered, miserable 
 women. Agratha only came out of one fainting 
 fit to fall into another, and in the intervals of her 
 sanity called with such heart-breaking entreaties 
 for her father and mother, that both Ladarine and 
 the woman Mary were exhausted with pity and 
 grief. 
 
 For Agratha was well aware of the kind of 
 calamity that had befallen her. It meant for her
 
 LORD McIVAR'S OFFER 233 
 
 utter personal ruin. Her parents would natur 
 ally believe that she had left them deceitfully and 
 willingly. Everyone would say so. She would 
 bring her father and mother down to their graves 
 with shame. They would cast her off. In every 
 awful sense, she felt like a lost child, and a lost 
 child can suffer like a lost soul. 
 
 At the dawn of the next day she lay motion 
 less and speechless, her brain had become stupefied 
 by suffering inevitable and inconsolable. Even 
 Ladarine trembled at the greatness of the child's 
 calamity, and was inspired by it with a wonder 
 ing awe What could it mean?
 
 CHAFER NINE 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 
 
 IT was four in the afternoon, instead of one, 
 when Lady Moody and Madame Van Ruyven 
 touched Gravesend. It had been a disagreeable 
 day, the wind being against them, and Lady 
 Moody much annoyed by the Still wells' slow 
 methods of business. Madame also had her 
 private anxiety concerning Agratha and Mclvar, 
 and the unhappy state of mind in which she had 
 left her husband. Many times during that un 
 pleasant sail she assured herself that unless her 
 husband and daughter were with her, she would 
 not go from her home again. 
 
 They landed wearily and almost in silence, and 
 Madame wondered that Agratha was not at the 
 wharf to meet them. But there was no other 
 ship in sight so she concluded her fears regard 
 ing Mclvar were baseless. 
 
 " I think James Hubbard ought to have been 
 here to take charge of the corn, after all the 
 trouble I have had about it," said Lady Moody, 
 and to this complaint the two ladies began their 
 tiresome walk up the sandy road. When the 
 234
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 235 
 
 house came in sight, Lady Moody started. It 
 had such a lonely look. No smoke was coming 
 from the big chimneys, and there was no sign of 
 either Agratha or Ladarine flitting between the 
 door and the gate. 
 
 " Something is the matter ! " Lady Moody ex 
 claimed. " Let us make haste, Ragel." 
 
 " Is something wrong?" asked Madame, 
 catching at once the alarm in, her companion's 
 voice. 
 
 "I cannot tell. Can you walk quicker? " 
 
 But the fear in their hearts made their steps 
 slow and heavy. They felt like women walking 
 in a bad dream, for they were scarcely able to 
 move their feet. Fortunately the next moment 
 they met James Hubbard with his cart, going 
 for the seed corn. 
 
 " Are not Miss Van Ruyven and Ladarine with 
 you? " he asked anxiously. 
 
 " No, James. Why do you ask ? " 
 
 " The house is locked up and I made no doubt 
 that they had found a chance to follow you to 
 New Amsterdam about something or other." 
 
 " Is it locked now, James? Now? " 
 
 " Yes, I tried to get in a few minutes ago, but 
 no one is there." 
 
 Madame uttered a sharp cry, and in trying to 
 hurry forward fell. " You ladies had better get 
 into the cart," said Hubbard. " It will make a 
 few minutes difference."
 
 236 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 But it made no difference in the result. The 
 doors were both locked, but Lady Moody knew 
 the hiding place for the heavy keys, and Hub- 
 bard quickly opened them. All was quiet, or- 
 derly and desolate. The table was laid for din* 
 iier, the meat and vegetables were ready to cook, 
 the dessert was made and standing in the dairy ta 
 cool. Hastily they went through every room> 
 looking for some written word or message to ex 
 plain the empty house. There was not a line 
 anywhere, and both women, aghast and terri 
 fied, sat down in despairing stupefaction. 
 
 Hubbard could help them to no solution of the 
 difficulty. " The men have been in the fields all 
 day," he said, " and the women mostly in the 
 house gardens. If there had been anything un 
 usual, someone would have seen and reported 
 it." 
 
 " If any strange ship had come here, it would 
 certainly have been seen, James ? " asked Lady 
 Moody. 
 
 " Well, my Lady, you know the Sound is full 
 of Baxter's pirate ships, and it is a point of 
 safety with us never to notice them when they 
 come to land for fresh water. Respectable craft 
 ring the big bell. If we do not hear the bell, we 
 do not see the ship." 
 
 " I know, James." 
 
 " Oh, Deborah, I must go home and tell my 
 husband! I feel as if I was dying! What has
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 237 
 
 come to my child? What am I to do? I am 
 dying, I think." 
 
 '* Now Ragel, do not faint. There is trouble 
 enough here. Keep your senses and get to your 
 husband without delay. He is the proper person 
 to seek his child. Perhaps you will find her at 
 home. Suppose that she has received an injury; 
 she would be sure to go at once to New Amster 
 dam for help." 
 
 " She would have left a little note, or at least 
 a message with a neighbour." 
 
 " Sit down, Ragel, and for God's sake do not 
 waste your soul strength in tears." 
 
 " Oh Deborah, it is easy for you to say that. 
 My little Agratha is dearer than life to me. Oh 
 God I Oh God in Heaven, what has come to my 
 child?" 
 
 " I will get you a cup of tea, while James un 
 loads the corn, then he will take you to the foot 
 of your own garden. You will be home by mid 
 night. But what can you do in the night? " 
 
 " Paul will consider things, and decide what 
 must be done." 
 
 " Yes, I see." 
 
 Then Hubbard went to unload the corn, but 
 he promised to be back by seven o'clock. " The 
 moon will be high by that hour," he said, " and 
 we shall make New Amsterdam before midnight, 
 if this wind lasts." 
 
 Left to themselves, both women gave way to
 
 238 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 their grief. Ragel could not be still; she walked 
 ceaselessly up and down, wringing her hands and 
 frantically calling her child. Lady Moody wept 
 without outcry as she went hither and thither, 
 looking for the things she wanted. Her loss was 
 a grievous one. Ladarine was her right hand, 
 her hourly help and comforter. She had stood 
 by her in all the changes of her strange career, 
 and life looked bare and haggard to Lady Moody 
 without her friend Ladarine. 
 
 " It was no hurried calamity, Ragel," she said, 
 as they drank the tea they so much needed. 
 '* Ladarine expected to be back early enough to 
 cook dinner for one o'clock, for the potatoes are 
 pared and standing in cold water. Neither had 
 she been hurried in her preparations, all was as 
 carefully attended to as usual; and whenever, or 
 wherever they went, they took time to lock both 
 front doors, and put the keys in their hiding 
 place. Evidently they went leisurely and hap 
 pily. Who did they go with? Dare you say 
 your thought ? " 
 
 " Yes, Deborah," she answered, and there was 
 a little anger in her voice. " I think they went 
 with Lord Mclvar. He was in New Amsterdam 
 yesterday, Paul told me so, and made me promise 
 to bring Agratha home because he was at hand." 
 
 " Oh, indeed ! " replied Lady Moody. " Poor 
 Gael! he cannot do right whatever he does."
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 239 
 
 ** It is not right to persuade a child to leave 
 her fader and moeder, and go, she knows not 
 where." 
 
 '* Do try and understand, Ragel, that Agra 
 tha is no longer a child. If you could sleep an 
 hour before James Hubbard comes, it would 
 help you." 
 
 " Sleep, Deborah ! How can you suppose 
 sleep is possible to me? I shall sleep no more 
 until I hear something from Agratha. Oh Ag- 
 ratha! Agratha! Where are you?" 
 
 Yet worn out with physical exertion and men 
 tal suffering, she mercifully slept most of the 
 way to New Amsterdam, and was refreshed and 
 grateful for the gracious oblivion. Hubbard 
 awakened her when they were near the landing 
 at the foot of the Van Ruyven garden, and she 
 thanked him for letting her sleep, and asked him 
 to come into the house and stay the rest of the 
 night with them. 
 
 " No," he answered, " I will tie up the boat 
 here, and take a nap on her. I want to be back 
 at Gravesend by daylight. Lady Moody will 
 need help. I must do all I can for her. I wish 
 Sir Henry would not leave home." 
 
 There was no difficulty in Ragel getting into 
 the house. She saw a light in her bedroom, and 
 called her husband, and he immediately threw up 
 the window and answered her.
 
 240 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " But you have not brought Agratha," he said 
 in a voice full of fear and disappointment. 
 
 "No, Paul!" 
 
 "But why?" 
 
 " I know not no one knows. She is gone ! " 
 
 "Gone! Agratha gone! What mean you? 
 Speak, wife! What mean you?" 
 
 " When we reached Lady Moody's last night, 
 the house was cold and locked. Agratha and 
 Ladarine cannot be found and they have left 
 neither letter nor message." 
 
 Then Paul flung his arms upward, and cried 
 out like a man in an extremity of anguish and 
 despair. It was a long, awful hour, before Ragel 
 could get him sane enough to consider what 
 if anything could be done. 
 
 However, when the storm of his grief had sub 
 sided into low sobs and exclamations, his love 
 gave him a wonderful prescience. He divined 
 the whole truth so clearly, that he might have 
 seen it with his eyes ; the only particular in which 
 Love failed him, was his strong persuasion that 
 Agratha had gone willingly with her lover, and 
 that Ladarine had been well paid to accompany 
 them. In these two respects, because jealousy 
 was stronger than love, he did not see clearly. 
 
 " The fact of her absconding cannot be hid 
 den, Ragel," he said, " but that wretch Mclvar 
 can be punished. I give my life now to this pur 
 pose. I will find him. I will prosecute him un-
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 
 
 til he swings from a gallows. For, thank God, 
 kidnapping is hanging in England, Holland, and 
 New Netherland." 
 
 " Oh Paul ! Paul ! Is this the end of all our 
 love and hope? But I will stand to this Agra- 
 tha did not go willingly. She was beguiled on 
 to the ship, and kept there. She promised thee 
 never to marry any man without thy consent." 
 
 " A woman's promise ! What is it worth ? " 
 
 " Everything it meant and included. Yes, in 
 deed! What are you going to do? It is easy 
 railing, but something must be done." 
 
 " What is in your mind, Ragel ? " 
 
 " This. They were, I am sure, beguiled on to 
 Mclvar's ship, for they took no clothing of any 
 kind. They would likely call at Bermuda to 
 buy clothing; if not there, perhaps at Kingston. 
 They might even try Norfolk, or if they took 
 north, go straight to Boston. Can you not send 
 a ship to these places to make some inquiries ? " 
 
 " Why? Will inquiries bring back our child? *' 
 
 " Oh, Paul ! I want to know that the Dear One 
 is not in want or suffering. I want to know, 
 Paul. The Long Island waters are full of 
 pirates." 
 
 " The Long Island pirates are after gold and 
 commodities. They don't bother about women. 
 They have no room for even one woman in their 
 narrow, swift boats." 
 
 " Why not hire one of those narrow, swift
 
 242 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 boats and follow Mclvar? They will likely stay 
 a few days at Bermuda, and a swift cutter may 
 catch them." 
 
 " Suppose I did, what then? " 
 
 "If you sent her a letter " 
 
 "I would cut off my right hand, rather than 
 use it to write to Mclvar's mistress." 
 
 " Paul Van Ruyven, say that word again, or 
 any other word reflecting on my daughter's chas 
 tity, and I will leave thy house forever! I will 
 never speak to thee again, no, never, while I live! 
 Thou ought to cut thy tongue out, for uttering 
 such a slander against the purest, sweetest soul 
 that God ever made." 
 
 " If an angel from heaven put herself on Mc 
 lvar's boat with him, what would thou think of 
 her?" 
 
 " Many good things, instead of the one bad 
 thing. For shame of thy sinful heart! Thou 
 art worse than Mclvar, for I am sure he had not 
 one evil thought of Agratha. All he asked, was 
 to make her his wife." 
 
 " If she was pure as Christ's mother, who 
 would believe it, after sailing with Mclvar? " 
 
 " I would believe it. And if I was a man, I 
 would strike the lie off the lips of anyone who 
 said different." 
 
 " The world's verdict is what the world lives 
 by, Ragel. We must regard it. Yes, indeed ! " 
 
 " God's verdict is above it."
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 243 
 
 "I believe that Agratha went willingly with 
 Mclvar. She was sick in love with him." 
 
 " She did not go willingly. But mind 
 this, Paul, if she went at all, it was thy own 
 fault." 
 
 "My fault!" 
 
 " Yes, thy fault. If thou had not kept her 
 letters, she had not been sick, she had not gone 
 to Gravesend, this trouble had not come." 
 
 "I had a right " 
 
 " Thou had no right. Thou did Agratha a 
 great wrong thou put her love affair at the 
 beginning, in a false light. Thou hast never 
 been straight or honourable about Mclvar. How 
 could thou expect he would be honourable with 
 thee? Yet he would have been, had thou trusted 
 him." 
 
 " All lovers are liars ! " 
 
 " Thou told him a straight lie yesterday, and 
 sent him away on a fool's errand. And that lie 
 wrought us this sorrow. Had thou told him the 
 truth, he would have come straight to Lady 
 Moody's, and he would have found me with Ag 
 ratha, and had no opportunity to kidnap her; 
 for that is what has happened. What good is 
 there in lies? They work to ill and sorrow, al 
 ways." 
 
 "Ragel! Ragel! cruel, cruel art thou! It is 
 flaying the broken heart, to say such things to 
 me."
 
 S44 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " What art thou going to do? I want some 
 word about my daughter." 
 
 " When the day comes, I will send a man to 
 Albany. We must find out if Mclvar went 
 there." 
 
 " He found thee out. He never went to Al 
 bany; he went to Gravesend." 
 
 " Well then, he hired Chris Jansen. I can send 
 for Jansen in the morning and see what he 
 says." 
 
 " Yes, that is good." 
 
 So the weary hours of this most miserable 
 night passed, and they pressed heavily upon Van 
 Ruyven. He could feel a certain want in all 
 Ragel's sympathy; for she did really think he 
 was in some measure to blame. And this bitter 
 drop, infused into the cup of his sorrow, could by 
 no means be removed; it penetrated everywhere, 
 even as a few drops of ink cloud a full glass of 
 water. 
 
 Week after week passed, but brought no re 
 lief; no word from the lost child, no credible in 
 formation about Mclvar. Paul and Ragel 
 showed the pitiless suspense in every way. They 
 had grown old, and the once happy, prosperous 
 home was the abiding place of grief and anxiety. 
 Fortunately before this calamity came to them, 
 Paul had begun to make arrangements for a 
 lengthy stay in Europe, and these he now com 
 pleted. His two sons were put in charge of the
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 
 
 business, and the home was rented for a period 
 of three years. 
 
 " I shall never come back here, Paul," said 
 Ragel, as she walked through its rooms ere she 
 left them in the hands of strangers, " never come 
 back, Paul, unless Agratha comes with me." 
 
 " We have been very happy here, Ragel." 
 
 " Yes, Dear One," she answered, " thou 
 brought me here a bride. Thou hast been a good 
 husband." 
 
 " Alas ! I have feared lately thou did not think 
 so, Ragel." 
 
 " My heart is broken, Paul. Have pity on 
 me! Many things I say, that are only words. 
 My troubles make me cross. Thou art good, 
 and I love thee with all my heart ; yes, I do ! " 
 Then he stooped and kissed her, and hand in hand 
 they left their home, mercifully ignorant whether 
 they would see it again or not 
 
 They had taken rooms at Creiger's Inn until 
 the return of Stuyvesant, who was hourly ex 
 pected, for Paul was anxious to procure from 
 him authority to act in his place, if any uncer 
 tainty arose about Agratha's American prop 
 erty, of which Stuyvesant was guardian, when 
 her affairs came up for settlement. They had 
 waited wearily for him, and not only they; the 
 whole city was in a state of frantic expectation. 
 He was at length coming to his own, and his own 
 were joyfully ready to receive him. But he
 
 246 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 came quietly up the river at night, and was in 
 the Fort before his arrival was known. 
 
 " There was a grand reception planned in thy 
 honour," said Madame Stuyvesant, " and thou 
 hast disappointed them, Peter." 
 
 " God knows I wish it could be otherwise, 
 Judith, I do indeed, but to speak it plain, the 
 expedition has been a great failure, and to blow 
 trumpets and ring bells over it, would be a ri 
 diculous thing." 
 
 " How was it a failure, Peter? " 
 
 " Oliver Cromwell decreed it so. He had con 
 ceived the same plan as myself, but Cromwell's 
 orders are immediately obeyed. It took a year 
 tor the Honourable Stupidities in the Amsterdam 
 Chamber to see the importance of my design; and 
 then having secured their permission, it was 
 eight months later, before I could persuade the 
 Wise Idiots of my Council Chamber to vote a 
 stiver for expenses. In the meantime, while we 
 were quarrelling about a few guilders, Cromwell's 
 ships were all over the West Indian seas, and he 
 had laid an embargo on all Dutch vessels. He 
 took eight in the Barbadoes harbours, and three 
 of the eight were under my command." 
 
 " How I hate that man, Peter." 
 
 " He is to be honoured and admired. He did 
 the thing I wanted to do. If I had to be disap 
 pointed and vanquished, it is some salve to my 
 mortification that I submitted to no less a soldier
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 247 
 
 than Oliver Cromwell. The man is irresistible 
 and unconquerable. He is ubiquitous; his orders 
 ring in every land, the flash of his sword illumines 
 every part of the habitable world. I hate fail 
 ure, Judith, as much as any man can do, but if 
 I had known Cromwell was working out my plan, 
 with the English navy to back him, I should have 
 retired." 
 
 But the success or failure of this expedition 
 made little difference to the happy New Amster 
 dam burghers. They had received their Stuy- 
 vesant back safe and sound, and it was a great 
 satisfaction to all waiting an audience, to hear 
 him striking the floor with his wooden leg, and 
 thumping the table with his powerful hand, and 
 flinging his stinging adjectives pell-mell at all, 
 and sundry. At these Stuyvesant signs and 
 symbols, they looked at each other and smiled. 
 They understood from them, that Peter was un 
 changed, that he had taken failure and disaster as 
 mere contingencies of his position as lord and 
 master of the burghers of New Netherland. And 
 after all, they wanted him just as he was. " He 
 does things," said Johan Willimsen, the baker, 
 " and he would rather they failed, than not do 
 them at all. That is his way." 
 
 Van Ruyven wrote for a private interview, 
 " in order to discuss some personal matters," and 
 received permission to be at the Fort at six 
 o'clock that evening. The hour set pleased Van
 
 248 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Ruyven. Stuyvesant would have had his sup 
 per, and they could smoke and quietly discuss the 
 trouble that had come to him ; " and I make no 
 doubt, Ragel," said the distracted man, " but 
 what he will give me good help and counsel." 
 
 On the contrary, Stuyvesant was in an irate 
 temper. He did not remove the pipe from his 
 lips, but gazing with a frowning intentness at 
 Van Ruyven, pointed to the chair he wished him 
 to occupy. 
 
 " I am thankful to see thee back, Governor," 
 said Van Ruyven, " we have needed thee much." 
 
 " I think that is plain. What, for instance, 
 hast thou been doing to thyself and all concern 
 ing thee? What hast thou been doing? Thou 
 hast become an old man. I hear thy wife is 
 dying. Thy beautiful daughter is lost. Thy, 
 business is out of ' thy hands. Thine home is 
 rented to strangers. Man! Into whose hands 
 hast thou fallen? " 
 
 " Into the same hands that Job fell. But I 
 am not yet ready to curse God and die. I want 
 you to help me find my daughter. If I had her, 
 if I only knew where she was, all the rest would 
 come right." 
 
 " That is insane balderdash. Things can 
 never be the same again." 
 
 " Oh, my God, that is the truth ! " 
 
 " What do you know about Agratha? Tell me 
 the last fragment of certainty you have."
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 249 
 
 " I know certainly, that she ran away with 
 Lord Mclvar." 
 
 " You lie ! " cried Stuyvesant. " You lie twen 
 ty-fold, Paul Van Ruyven. What an unworthy, 
 perfidious, treasonable father you are! It passes 
 my understanding why God gives his sweet little 
 daughters to cruel, selfish men like you, and 
 leaves Peter Stuyvesant hungry and thirsty for a 
 little daughter to love and cherish, for His sake. 
 Alas ! for the dear beautiful Agratha ! " 
 
 " You asked me, Governor, for some reality 
 about her loss. I know that Mclvar was in 
 Gravesend early on the morning of her disappear 
 ance. In four hours, he and his ship, Agratha 
 and Ladarine, were all gone away. They went 
 together, no doubt of it." 
 
 " I do not believe that Agratha, wise and lov 
 ing as she was, would leave all dear to her at a 
 moment's notice, for that be-feathered, be-petti- 
 coated Jack-a-Dandy. What a sap-headed fool 
 you must be, to think so! Lord! And you had 
 the loveliest daughter in all the land. And poor 
 Peter! Humff f f. What the devil next?" 
 
 " My wife and I are going to Holland and 
 England." 
 
 "God's sake. For what?" 
 
 " To see if we can hear anything of her." 
 
 " A villain like Mclvar would not go to either 
 country." 
 
 "But why?"
 
 250 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Because kidnapping women, both in Holland 
 and England, ends on the gallows, and I tell you, 
 sir, if Mclvar puts his foot in New Netherland, 
 he will get the deepest dungeon in the Fort, and 
 the highest gallows that can be built for him. 
 We don't have everything we ought to have, but, 
 thank God, we do have Holland'.; laws, and Peter 
 Stuyvesant to see them carried out ! " 
 
 "Where would you look for him, Governor?" 
 
 " Where, but in his own wild country. There 
 they admire a man who kidnaps his wife, are in 
 deed as proud of the dastardly feat, as English 
 milords are of fighting duels." 
 
 " You know everything, Governor." 
 
 " I know this, because while I was away, I 
 stayed a week in the house of a Highland Scot. 
 There were just two books in his library, a Bible 
 and a History of the Scottish clans. From the 
 latter I learned that the father of this young 
 blackguard Mclvar carried off the daughter of 
 a rich border gentleman, that his uncle ran away 
 with the Lord of Jura's daughter, and his grand 
 father with the heiress of Breadalbane. It is in 
 their blood. They ' lift ' desirable women, as 
 they lift cattle, or any other commodity they 
 want." 
 
 " Is there no law against kidnapping in Scot 
 land? " 
 
 " I should say not. If there was, the Chiefs 
 would keep the Law Lords busy."
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 251 
 
 " If I could only believe that my Agratha 
 was taken by force, and could not help her 
 self." 
 
 " You are a poor, mean father, if you cannot. 
 You would make the devil blush, sir, if he had any 
 blushing faculty in him; for he is kind and com 
 plimentary to the children who serve him well. 
 He believes in his own, and gives them their 
 hearts' desire. I have seen him do it all my life 
 long. But I tell you, Paul Van Ruyven, if ever 
 you say a word disparaging my dear, innocent 
 ward Agratha, I will denounce you, even in the 
 Kirk, I will call you a liar." 
 
 " Governor Stuyvesant, you make yourself too 
 hot about my affairs. Have you considered that 
 Agratha had Ladarine Gilpin with her, and that 
 an appeal to the men on the boat might have 
 gained their help? " 
 
 " Not a man on Mclvar's boat would have lis 
 tened to her, or even understood her. I had a 
 talk this morning with Chris Jansen. He told 
 me that every man on the ship was a Mclvar. 
 Even the one woman was a Mclvar, and the wife 
 of the boatswain. Only the woman spoke any 
 English, and even if they had understood Agra- 
 tha's entreaties, they would not have regarded 
 them. He said they adored Mclvar as their Cap 
 tain and Chief, and would have been chopped to 
 pieces, rather than disobey him." 
 
 " I love Agratha ! Oh, how I love her ! " cried
 
 252 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Van Ruyven pitifully, and he knew not that he 
 trembled, and that his face was wet with tears. 
 
 Stuyvesant looked at him with a pitying con 
 tempt, not unmixed with wonder. " You love 
 yourself better," he answered. 
 
 " No ! No ! Governor ! I do not." 
 
 " If you had not loved yourself best, you would 
 not have seen Agratha pine and sicken for a few 
 letters and trinkets." 
 
 " I did not know ! I did not know ! Say no 
 more to me. I have borne all I can. I came to 
 remind you, that on Agratha's twenty-first birth 
 day, there will be a final settlement in the Eng 
 lish Court of Chancery, regarding the property 
 in their charge If any action is required about 
 the American property, I might spare you some 
 trouble if you will empower me to act for you." 
 
 " No, Van Ruyven, I will keep my own hand, 
 on my own business, and to speak it plain, I do 
 not like your way of doing business. And I will 
 not put it in the power of any English Court to 
 pass verdict or opinion on American land. They 
 would find out, and swear to it, that the land 
 originally and finally belonged to some old Eng 
 lishman dead and buried a hundred years ago. 
 When do you sail ? " 
 
 " To-morrow." 
 
 Then a great compassion filled the heart of 
 Stuyvesant, and he put out his hand, and clasped 
 Yan Ruyven's. " I am sorry for you. I am
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 253 
 
 sorry with all my heart for you, Van Ruyven. It 
 is the plain truth. Such a barefaced piece of 
 blackguardism as that Scot has wrought you, is 
 enough to make men wonder and tremble, but if 
 the man comes into my power, I will leave noth 
 ing for you to pay." 
 
 Van Ruyven clasped the hand offered, and 
 stood a moment silent with his full eyes cast 
 down. The uncertainty surrounding his trouble 
 made him irresolute and hopeless. If he knew 
 what he had to face, he would not shirk the worst 
 of it, but at that time it was only the desperate 
 patience of a brave heart that kept him fighting 
 for a hope forlorn and dying. 
 
 After Van Ruyven had left the room, Stuy- 
 vesant sat still a few moments and the look on 
 his face was like that of a man who prays. Cer 
 tainly his compassion for Van Ruyven, and his 
 fervent desire for some relief to his anxiety, had 
 all the spirit of the prayer most acceptable to 
 the Merciful One. When he returned to his wife 
 and sister, they regarded his subdued manner 
 with astonishment. They had heard his angry 
 voice accompanied by that emphatic beat of his 
 big hand which generally intimated angry discus 
 sion, and they had told, each other that "Peter 
 was giving Van Ruyven some little of what he 
 deserved." 
 
 But when Anna Bayard said, "Brother, I am 
 glad thou hast had the courage to reprove Van
 
 254 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Ruyven for his wickedness to his child. None of 
 the citizens have dared to speak to him on that 
 subject, not even the Domine " Stuyvesant an 
 swered : 
 
 " Then the Domine ought to be reproved for 
 neglecting his duty. Day by day, he should have 
 gone to comfort Van Ruyven and his wife." 
 
 " Art thou taking Van Ruyven's part, dear 
 Peter? " asked Madame Stuyvesant. 
 
 " I am, Judith. And if anyone says a word 
 against any of the Van Ruyvens in my presence, 
 they will quickly wonder what has happened." 
 
 " They will also think thou hast lost thy 
 senses, Peter," said Anna Bayard. " I might 
 think so myself. What is the matter with thy 
 judgment to-day?" 
 
 Then Stuyvesant recapitulated shortly Van 
 Ruyven's side of the question and reminded the 
 ladies that Ragel had been as much to blame as 
 her husband. He also, in some measure, extenu 
 ated Gael, on account of inherited tendencies and 
 popular customs, though he was much harder on 
 Gael than on any of the Van Ruyvens. In his 
 opinion, Van Ruyven's rude and scornful treat 
 ment of Gael when the youth came open-handed 
 and honourably to seek Agratha in marriage, was 
 the great and unpardonable fault. 
 
 " Gael meant to do right in every respect," he 
 said, "but when he was scoffed at, and his offer 
 treated with contempt, it roused the devil in the
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 255 
 
 young fool, and he could think of nothing but 
 revenge." 
 
 " A very natural result, Peter," said Mrs. 
 Bayard. " Did he tell you himself about his be 
 haviour? " 
 
 " Yes, but Jansen told me more particularly. 
 He described to me the young lord's rage as he 
 stood by his side at the wheel all night with him. 
 Well then, he has punished Van Ruyven cruelly, 
 but he has also punished four innocent people 
 with him, for I hear Lady Moody is suffering 
 much from the loss of Ladarine. Anna, as you 
 go about, make people see this affair justly 
 as I do it may save them more trouble than 
 they dream of." 
 
 " People will talk, Peter ; and they will talk 
 as they think." 
 
 " Remind them that our laws for punishing 
 slander are very severe, and by heaven and earth, 
 I will not curtail a word of them, not for the fin 
 est lady in New Amsterdam ! Tell Stanley to 
 order my guard. I am going to the City Hall." 
 
 "To-night, Peter? It is late and dark." 
 
 " The burghers are sitting there, Anna, and 
 they must be wanting, or at least needing, a word 
 or two from me." 
 
 " And they will get them, no doubt," said Anna 
 to her sister-in-law, as Stuyvesant was putting 
 on his coat and hat. In a few minutes the guard 
 with lanterns in their left hands and axes in their
 
 256 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 right appeared, and Stuyvesant walked rapidly 
 to the City Hall. In the Council Chamber the 
 burgomasters and other citizens were sitting, 
 and they were not expecting Stuyvesant. Dur 
 ing his six months' absence, they had forgotten 
 their fear of him, so when he entered the room, 
 they gave him a hearty cheer, and the chairman 
 rose and offered his seat, which Stuyvesant took 
 without thanks or apologies. 
 
 For a moment there was silence, for Stuy 
 vesant was looking round the assembled company 
 with those wonderfully clear, penetrating eyes, 
 which are even yet subjects of tradition. He 
 saw men there who had no right to be in the 
 Council Chamber, and he judged instantly that in 
 some way or other they were attending to the 
 private ceremony, so naively called " watering 
 the pigeons." It was a momentary picture of 
 great interest, for this Dutch Governor, sitting 
 among typical Dutchmen, was totally unlike 
 them both physically and mentally. 
 
 They were large, fair men, hiding very cau 
 tious natures behind an apparent very attrac 
 tive artlessness and simplicity. They had no 
 physical angles, all their joints were well padded 
 with flesh, to resist the buffets of the world. 
 They were slow in speech, prudent in action, and 
 their minds were wholly bent on the money ques 
 tions they were present to discuss. Stuyvesant 
 was physically like a Spanish grandee. He had
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 257 
 
 the same clear olive skin, and long straight black 
 hair, the same haughty manner and dignified 
 bearing. He was in all respects an angular, 
 aquiline man, spare, strong, and energetic, an 
 autocrat both by nature and training. He knew 
 nothing about cautious speech, his words were his 
 thoughts made vocal, and though they were full 
 of a colossal egotism, it was an egotism of strong 
 individuality. And all men present knew that 
 with a high sense of personal honour, his honesty 
 in public matters was beyond reproach. 
 
 This dark, spare man dressed in black cloth 
 and black velvet, with his long black hair sur 
 mounted by a black silk skull cap, was a remark 
 able contrast to the large fair men surrounding 
 him, and the piercing glances with which he re 
 garded the company lawfully and unlawfully 
 there had the effect upon all of a momentary 
 shock. The unseated chairman broke the sensi 
 tive silence. 
 
 " We are all glad to see you, Governor, and to 
 see you looking so well." 
 
 Stuyvesant bowed, and again flashed his keen, 
 searching eyes around the table. 
 
 " And what have you to tell us about the ex 
 pedition, Governor?" asked burgomaster Ten 
 Eyck. 
 
 " It was a complete failure. The gentlemen 
 present ought to know why. It was their fault 
 their fault entire and altogether," and he
 
 258 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 struck the table passionately, and sent his star 
 tling, malefic glance around the Council table. 
 
 " We see not," began Ten Eyck. 
 
 " No, you are blind as bats, about everything 
 not touching your own interests. If you can't 
 see, then listen: You kept me waiting eight 
 months for money to fit out the ships, and dur 
 ing that time Oliver Cromwell stepped into my 
 plans, and took all there was to take. You gave 
 me money when it was too late, and sent me on a 
 fool's errand. And from all I can at present 
 judge, having got me out of your way, you rep 
 resentatives of popular government have been 
 behaving in a manner abominable to all honest 
 men, though you may be able to prove that it 
 was without animus furandi." 
 
 " Governor ! " 
 
 " Be quiet. At present it is your place to 
 listen. I gave to your requests and promises the 
 excise income. You ought to have immediately 
 paid the Domine's income out of it. Not one of 
 you thought of the poor man. You have not 
 paid him a stiver, and he and his wife and chil 
 dren slept on the floor all through the winter, 
 and you on your feather beds. God! I am 
 ashamed of you, and I will have the secretary of 
 this meeting make out an order on the City 
 Treasury for seven months' salary. Let him 
 write it at once." 
 
 " There is only six months due, Governor."
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 259 
 
 " There is six months and twenty-one days 
 due, and for the future I intend the Domine to 
 have his salary every month in advance. Seven 
 months are due, and it is just as well to pay the 
 eighth month now, as ten days later. To squab 
 ble about ten days' advance for the Domine is 
 a beggarly, low, abject, sordid, niggardly brawl 
 is infra dignitatem." 
 
 He waited in silence until he saw the Secretary 
 draw his quill and inkhorn closer, and begin writ 
 ing. Then he said: 
 
 " Mr. Secretary, you will give that order to 
 me. I will attend to its collection and payment. 
 And, gentlemen," he continued, as he rose and 
 looked angrily around, " I have been examining 
 these papers," and he took a package from his 
 pocket. " They are all signed, sealed, and dock 
 eted as correct and paid. You have put most of 
 the money in ypur own pockets, by crediting 
 yourselves with items which I will not allow. I'll 
 see you all hanged first! You have borrowed 
 money to complete the work on the Fort, and 
 you have spent it for purposes where the per 
 quisites and commissions were larger and safer. 
 But the men who loaned you the money are now 
 clamouring for payment. I know it, for I 
 talked with them this morning. How are you go 
 ing to pay them? I gave you no authority to 
 borrow the gold. It was not used for the Conv- 
 pany, and the Company will look to you to sat-
 
 60 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 isfy the lenders. I will not help you to one 
 stiver. Indeed I will not. Such indescribable 
 transactions are damnable and detestable. I 
 want also to know why you paid Francois de 
 Bleue's passage money to Amsterdam? I won't 
 allow such a bill. Look after it yourselves ! " 
 
 " Governor " 
 
 " Sit down, burgomaster, I have not finished 
 yet. You have failed to contribute your quota 
 to the public works. You have failed to furnish 
 the subsidies you promised. I shall resume the 
 control of the excise. You are not fit to trust 
 with it. You say in your report to me that the 
 city has never been so prosperous. You lie. 
 The city is full of hunger, and want and beggary, 
 but I grant you the City Officials are wallowing 
 in prosperity. More shame to them! I will al 
 low you one week to look for, or to invent ex 
 cuses for these and other mistakes. I will call 
 them * mistakes ' in the meantime, lest you say I 
 have a mania for finding fault. That you may be 
 able to prove yourselves lovers of your city, and 
 honest guardians of her wealth is my desire. In 
 one week, gentlemen, Volente Deo." 
 
 With these words Stuyvesant left the meet 
 ing, and no one spoke until he was well beyond 
 hearing their remarks. Then the chairman took 
 the vacated chair and said : " Brothers, I fear 
 we shall have some trouble in satisfying the Gov 
 ernor ; " and Schepen Volckmaars asked, " Why
 
 BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE 261 
 
 does he use words no one understands; there is 
 always trouble when he gets to his Latin." 
 
 " Because," answered the little tailor Oothout, 
 who had as yet no share in the city's spoil, " be 
 cause he threatens things he does not care, just 
 yet, to promise you in Dutch or even English." 
 
 An explanation which gave no comfort to the 
 anxious City Fathers.
 
 CHAPTER TEN 
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 
 
 TIME and the hour run through the roughest 
 day, but to the two abducted women on The 
 Nautilus the days were without end, and full to 
 the brim of pain and sorrow. For Agratha had 
 grasped in the first moments of her calamity all 
 the ruin it included, and her paroxysms of weep 
 ing, alternating with long periods of almost 
 breathless coma, were its first results. Until 
 they reached Bermuda there was no alleviation 
 of this condition, and when the coma became 
 shorter and less frequent, the change only length 
 ened the hours of her more acute suffering. Dur 
 ing their stay in Bermuda, Lord Mclvar sent on 
 board all the materials necessary for making 
 clothing, and a number of other articles, which 
 Ladarine said were required for comfort. But 
 she would not suffer Mclvar to pay for what she 
 kept; she insisted on a bill from the merchant 
 made out to Miss Gilpin, and this bill Miss Gil- 
 pin discharged. 
 
 Agratha was too ill even then to take any in 
 terest in the purchases, but as the weather was 
 262
 
 263 
 
 delightful, and they were sailing in a southerly 
 direction across the Atlantic, she was carried by 
 the boatswain every fine day to the deck, where 
 a sort of canvas tent was prepared for her. 
 
 " Thou must keep thy distance, my Lord," said 
 'Ladarine to Mclvar, " for if she sees thee, it 
 will be the last of her." 
 
 " I am sorry, Ladarine." 
 
 " Sorry ! Thou may well be sorry." 
 
 How is " 
 
 " More dead than alive. Thy dirk in her heart 
 would have been an easier death." 
 
 " I have suffered also, Ladarine." 
 
 " I hope to goodness thou will suffer a deal 
 more yet ! " 
 
 " If she will not notice me, I shall kill my 
 self." 
 
 " I'm not sure but what killing thyself is the 
 best thing thou can do." 
 
 " Oh, Ladarine, pity me ! The wrong was done 
 in a moment of passion." 
 
 " I can't pity thee, not I ! When I look at 
 the ruin thou hast made of yon little girl's life, 
 I hate thee." 
 
 " I deserve to be hated." 
 
 " Thou does." 
 
 " But I am suffering with her." 
 
 "I see that. Thou looks ten years older." 
 
 " Will she ever speak to me again? " 
 
 " I should say, no. How can thou expect it?
 
 264 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 What art thou going to do with us? Where are 
 we going? " 
 
 " To the Mediterranean. The garrison doctor 
 in Bermuda, whom I consulted about her case, 
 told me she must be kept on deck, and have con 
 stant change of scene." 
 
 " Send us home, and ease thy soul a bit." 
 " Then the hangman would dog my steps." 
 " To be sure, but it is what thou deserves." 
 At these words Mclvar walked away, looking 
 so utterly miserable, that Ladarine, in spite of 
 herself, was touched with pity. She was vexed 
 at this symptom of weakness, and immediately 
 turned the emotion into one of anger against Van 
 Ruyven. 
 
 " A stubborn, selfish old man, and proud as 
 Lucifer ! " she said angrily. " I wish I had the 
 sorting of him. I'd bring him down to his right 
 place." 
 
 The next few weeks were the bitterest of Ag- 
 ratha's sorrow, for she had reached a full realisa 
 tion of its irrevocable wrong. Oh, the useless re 
 grets that came too late! Oh, the cries uttered 
 to an unheeding silence ! Oh, the shame, the loss, 
 the anguish, the prostration worse than death! 
 Oh, the desolate nights peopled with the phan 
 toms of her imagination and memory! Oh, the 
 fearful second-sight of dreams! It did not seem 
 possible that she could deserve such sorrow. She 
 had gone out one morning smiling and happy for
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 265 
 
 a walk, and had met an irreparable misfortune 
 that had ruined her life. 
 
 Active grief, full of lamentations, settled down 
 to a despairing quiet, and no one can be so hope 
 less as the young. Agratha was sure her calam 
 ity was destined and inevitable. " It is my fate, 
 Ladarine," she murmured, " it was put into my 
 life, it had to happen, no one could help it ! " So 
 she easily fell into that deaf and dumb indiffer 
 ence, which benumbs those whose grief is greater 
 than they can bear. 
 
 But God has ordained Time to cure all griefs. 
 The days disintegrate them, the years carry them 
 away, and thus all excess in life is curbed; for no 
 pendulum swings in one direction only. This 
 process was aided by the sunshine and the fresh, 
 buoyant air, and when they reached the Eu 
 ropean coast, Agratha was beginning to think: 
 there might be a future before her, and to won 
 der what it could be. 
 
 " Do you suppose he will take us to Algiers 
 and sell us for slaves ? " she asked Ladarine one 
 day in a voice full of anxiety and terror. 
 
 " No, he will not," was the decisive answer* 
 " He is bad enough, but not quite devil enough 1 
 for that." 
 
 One lovely summer night, just after they 
 passed Gibraltar, Agratha lay sleeping in her 
 little tent, and Ladarine sat on the deck beside 
 her. She was restless and unhappy, and won-
 
 dering how long this existence was to last, when 
 Lord Mclvar stepped softly to her side. He did 
 not speak, but stood watching the sleeping girl. 
 She lay motionless, the moonlight just touching 
 her scattered hair, and her small, thin hands, 
 which were clasped above her breast. 
 
 " How lovely she is ! " he said softly. " Oh, 
 Ladarine, if she would only speak to me! only 
 look at me ! " 
 
 " Why don't you let us go home ? What do 
 you expect to make by keeping us in this floating 
 prison, Lord Mclvar? " answered Ladarine. 
 
 " I expect to make my life, and my wife," he 
 replied. 
 
 " You are a soft lot to be so feared for your 
 life, and your wife; suppose you had the spirit 
 to try and win her over again." 
 
 " If I had any hope " 
 
 " Old love is a dangerous thing for women folk 
 to touch. They forgive as easy as God does 
 if there is any love left to build on." 
 
 " Lada, if I could get her to marry me, we 
 should still have to keep in hiding until she is 
 twenty-one years old. Before it, her father 
 could take her from me on sight." 
 
 " I never heard of such a thing, and I don't 
 believe it." 
 
 " And if she should happen to have money, or 
 was a Chancery ward, and I ran away with her 
 as I have done I would be tried for kidnap-
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 267 
 
 ping, and hung, unless I could prove that she 
 was a willing partner to the kidnapping." 
 
 " Thou couldn't prove anything of that kind. 
 We came on board thy ship as innocent as babes, 
 and thou forced us to stay, so thou did, and I 
 don't see how thou wilt be any less guilty two 
 years after this." 
 
 " I shall be just as guilty, but Agratha will 
 then be her own mistress, and she can marry whom 
 she chooses to marry, and neither her father nor 
 the law can interfere between them." 
 
 " And art thou fool enough to expect that 
 iifter all she has suffered through thee, she will 
 forgive the past, and love thee and marry thee ? " 
 
 " Yes, I expect that." 
 
 " Thou caps me that's all. And there's 
 nothing but a man would have the up-and-down 
 impudence to expect anything of that sort." 
 
 " I think she is much better in health." 
 
 " To be sure, she is getting a bit of strength, 
 nd to-day she has taken a deal of notice." 
 
 Of me?" 
 
 " Nay, not of thee. She didn't seem to know 
 there was anybody like thee around." 
 
 " She will have to take notice, and Ladarine, 
 I advise you to be preparing her to do so. You 
 may tell her, that at Marseilles, I shall bring a 
 clergyman on board who will marry us." 
 
 " Thou must be losing thy senses. I'll tell her 
 no such lies and rubbish. Tell her thyself."
 
 268 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " I do not expect she will listen to such a 
 thing yet. But if the proposal be repeated, 
 and repeated, she will finally take it in, and con 
 sider it. Then ten to one, consideration will end 
 in surrender." 
 
 " Lord Mclvar, you don't know what you are 
 talking about. There's as much hold-out in that 
 handful of a girl as there is in that old game 
 cock, Peter Stuyvesant." 
 
 " I like her for it, but she is going to give way 
 to me in the end." 
 
 " No, she won't." 
 
 " I say she will," and with these words he 
 walked away. 
 
 Ladarine looked quietly after him. " He isn't 
 such a very bad sort," she said with an inward 
 snicker, " and it is fair capping to listen to him.'* 
 
 She sat musing on this conversation until the 
 night was far advanced, and everything on ship 
 board had the loneliness and melancholy of 
 dreams. She disliked to awaken Agratha; if this 
 was done, she might leave her spiritual self in 
 whatever land she had been roaming while asleep. 
 Yet the chill of the midnight was coming, she 
 was weary of watching, and she was just going 
 to see if a few spoken words would arouse the 
 girl, when the still air was softly thrilled by one 
 word: 
 
 " Lada! " 
 
 She could have cried out with joy, for the one
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 269 
 
 word was in Agratha's old confiding, sweet voice. 
 She had not heard it since that dreadful morn 
 ing in which they stepped on board The Nau 
 tilus. But surely Agratha called her, and her 
 voice had its natural happy ring, and pretty in 
 flections; it was, in fact, the voice of the little 
 maid whom she had nursed and scolded and loved, 
 for so many blessed years. 
 
 " God's precious ! " she whispered, " Lada is 
 here. What can Lada do?" 
 
 " Lada, I have seen my fader and my moeder. 
 I am so happy. They were not at all angry with 
 me, they kissed and blessed me, and as my moeder 
 went away, she said, * Weep no more, Dear 
 One. All is right.' And I am so happy, Lada. 
 I will be cheerful and good again, and I 
 am sure God will take us out of this dreadful 
 ship." 
 
 This midnight dream was the spell that began 
 to bring back the old Agratha. In the morning 
 she asked for a prettier dress, and ordered her 
 breakfast on deck. Afterwards she took up a 
 piece of sewing, and though it was but a few 
 stitches now and then, the apparent idleness 
 might well be excused by the charmful sail past 
 storied lands, in weather such as there may be in 
 Paradise. That same evening Lada spoke to her 
 of Mclvar's proposal to bring a clergyman to 
 the ship, and she looked at Lada in blank amaze 
 ment.
 
 270 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " I would rather die than marry Gael Mclvar. 
 You should have told him so, Lada." 
 
 " I did. Maybe he will die himself before he 
 marries thce, or anybody else. He is thin and 
 old looking, and is breaking his heart. I was a 
 bit sorry for him Men feel these things a deal 
 more than women do." 
 
 "They do not, Lada." 
 
 " I'll not fratch with thee about the man. He 
 is neither here nor there, only he has us in his 
 power." 
 
 "Is he very ill?" 
 
 " I should think he is. If thou would cast a 
 look his way, it might help him a bit." 
 
 " I will not look at him. I could not bear to." 
 
 " Just as thou likes." 
 
 " Lada, he has been talking to you." 
 
 " Aye, for sure, he has." 
 
 "When?" 
 
 " About the same hour thou thought thy fader 
 and moeder was talking to thee." 
 
 " They were talking to me. I did not think it." 
 
 " Thou dreamed it. Dear knows what dream 
 ing is ! I don't." 
 
 "What did Gael say to you?" 
 
 Then Ladarine repeated as much of the con 
 versation as she thought wise, and Agratha 
 flushed and patted the deck angrily with her 
 foot. 
 
 " So he thinks I will give in, at last."
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 271 
 
 " Aye, he does. So do I." 
 
 " You are both wrong. I shall never marry 
 Gael Mclvar. Never ! " 
 
 " Dost thou love him yet ? " 
 
 " Loving is believing. I do not believe in 
 Gael any longer." 
 
 " Love has a way of coming back. When the 
 spring and the daffodils go away, we know they, 
 will come back, for they are realities That is 
 Love's way. If he goes, he is sure to come back 
 again. I wouldn't wonder to see thee loving Gael 
 better than ever." 
 
 " I can love him no more. No more ! And, 
 oh, Love was so sweet, Lada, only it gives so lit 
 tle pleasure, and so much sorrow. A few days 
 Gael and I were happy, but I had two years and 
 more of heartache and sorrow, while I thought 
 he had forgotten me." 
 
 " That was thy father's fault, and the misery 
 we are both suffering now is also thy father's 
 fault." 
 
 " Fader intended to be kind. He thought he 
 was right." 
 
 " I don't hold with his ideas of what is right 
 and kind but never heed. It is a bit of com 
 fort to know he has found a young man that can 
 best him. Maybe he won't pontify and order 
 around so much hereafter." 
 
 " My fader made a mistake, Ladarine, his 
 intentions were good.
 
 " For sure. I have heard tell that hell is paved 
 Jwith good intentions." 
 
 " I love my fader and my moeder, Lada, and 
 you must not say wrong words of them." 
 
 " I'll say nothing worse of thy fader, than that 
 he is an obstinate man; there's no coming and 
 going in him. And what I have thought, I have 
 kept grandly to myself, though I'll wager my 
 last shilling, New Amsterdam is ringing with the 
 very same opinions I hold by." 
 
 " I don't care. Let it ring." 
 
 " It might as w r ell. Thy father has done his 
 ido, and I'll be bound he is satisfied ! " and she 
 rubbed the end of her nose with an air of scorn. 
 " God-a-mercy, child ! " she added, as she saw the 
 tears gathering in Agratha's eyes, " don't thee 
 begin crying again." 
 
 " I am so unhappy, Lada ; nobody loves me." 
 
 " Isn't it a bit ungrateful of thee to talk such 
 rubbish? If that foolish young man Gael Mc- 
 Ivar had not loved thee beyond all sense and rea 
 son, he would have left thee in some strange place 
 long ago, to finish thy Book of Lamentations. 
 He wouldn't have seen thee turn his ship into a 
 hospital for weeks, and months, I may say." 
 
 " Do not scold me, Lada." 
 
 " I'm far from what I call scolding. I am just 
 telling thee that thy duty now is to make the 
 best of things as they are. I must say I would 
 like a few days rest mysen. Waiting on sick
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 273 
 
 folk night and day, week in and week out, is not 
 an agreeable life. So far, I have made no words 
 about it, but I'm fagged out, and thou must help 
 me to keep mysen together If I should be so ill- 
 guided as to get a sickness, whatever would 
 thou do?" 
 
 " I would do for you, all that you did for me, 
 that is sure." 
 
 "Thou could not." 
 
 " But God would help me." 
 
 " Mebbe He would, and mebbe He wouldn't. 
 His way, and His plan might not be the same as 
 thine. Them above know their own business, and 
 we can't either meddle, or make in it. Happen 
 it is a bit presuming to think we can." 
 
 Until August they lazily drifted eastward, here 
 and there as wind and fancy led them some 
 times sailing so close to the land that they rip 
 pled the shadows cast from the shore, and 
 sometimes running into little known harbours 
 to avoid a squall. But calm as the life was, all 
 were weary of it, and the constant sunshine pro 
 duced a speechless inertia and laziness. Even 
 Ladarine sat with empty hands, and a strange 
 expression of pathos on her strong face. 
 
 During these oppressive weeks, Agratha had 
 been compelled at various times to take Gael into 
 her thoughts. She preserved her apparent ig 
 norance of his presence, but in reality the man's 
 temperament fascinated her. This influence be-
 
 274 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 gan one night, when they were lying off Malta, 
 and a white squall broke over them with its cus 
 tomary unexpectedness. 
 
 In a loud, commanding voice he ordered the 
 two women to their cabins, and almost immedi 
 ately the hellish uproar began. The wind 
 screamed, the waves bellowed, and The Nautilus 
 was tossed like a cork on their crest. Meanwhile 
 Agratha could heard Gael's clear, resonant voice 
 commanding his men in Gaelic: 
 
 "Stand by to reef! Get out the storm jib! 
 Quick!" 
 
 Ladarine was on her knees, there was no one 
 to interfere, and she managed to reach the top 
 of the companion way, and look towards the 
 wheel. There stood Gael. His head was uncov 
 ered, his face set seaward, and as she gazed at 
 him a big sea, with a race and a roar like a thou 
 sand guns went over them. The Nautilus leaped 
 her length and rip rip rip ! sailors know the 
 sound. But in a few moments she came gallantly 
 to her bearings, and shaking herself, sped like a 
 gull away into the storm. Gael still had his 
 grip on the wheel, though the spindrift lashed 
 him like whips, and The Nautilus spun on her 
 heels like a top. 
 
 Where now was the Chief in full kilt and 
 feather, and where was the Lord in velvet and 
 satin leading the dance? She had forgotten 
 them both, but this man facing the storm, and
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 275 
 
 making his ship obey his touch, could never be 
 put out of memory. His clothing was ripped to 
 rags by the wind, his hair soaked, his face sore 
 and red with the salt water, but this was a Gael 
 Mclvar she had never known, but one she could 
 not help admiring. The storm went down as 
 rapidly as it rose, but it left the ship and every 
 one in it worn out with their experience. Ag- 
 ratha and Ladarine, sitting in the main saloon, 
 saw two of Gael's poor brothers come down 
 the companion way with their Chief and Cap 
 tain. He was white as a dead man, his steps tot 
 tered, his eyes appeared to be closed, his arms 
 hung down powerless, his clothing was in tatters, 
 and he looked as if he would fall with every step 
 he dragged himself. But he reached his cabin 
 without an accident, and Ladarine ejaculated: 
 " Thank God ! Thank God Almighty ! " 
 " What for, Ladarine? I think Gael is dying." 
 " Mary told me that when her husband relieved 
 him at the wheel, he fainted. But he isn't dying, 
 not he! He is just fagged out. In another five 
 minutes he would have had to let the ship take 
 her own way, which was to the shore and utter 
 destruction. Thank God! he kept the helm long 
 enough to save us. A few hours' sleep will put 
 all right." 
 
 No one saw Gael until noon of the following 
 day ; then he came on deck fresh and smiling, and 
 full of interest about the damage done to The
 
 276 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Nautilus. There was still some litter of wreck 
 age around, and a glance showed him that Ag 
 ratha was not on deck. About one o'clock Mc- 
 Ivar's dinner was brought into the main saloon, 
 where Agratha and Ladarine were sitting, and 
 they rose to go to Agratha's parlour for their 
 own meal. At the same moment Mclvar entered, 
 and Ladarine instantly went to meet him. 
 
 " My Lord," she said, " we two poor women, 
 whose lives God's mercy and your courage saved 
 from death, wish to thank you. You did grandly, 
 you did that ! You are one man made after God's 
 own image, and Ladarine Gilpin has a grateful 
 heart." Then she turned and looked at Agratha. 
 
 Gael held Ladarine's hand, but he kept his 
 eyes on Agratha, and, oh, how his heart throbbed, 
 when she rose and came to him. She stood trem 
 bling at his side, and tried to speak but could 
 not; and he saw her strait, and stooping to her 
 face whispered: 
 
 " Agratha ! My dear, dear Agratha ! " 
 
 " Oh Gael ! Gael ! " she sobbed, and the next- 
 moment he was holding her hands, and kissing on 
 them the passionate pleading words of his long- 
 suppressed desire. Then Agratha's dinner was 
 laid on Mclvar's table, and Ladarine sent all 
 helpers away. 
 
 " I'll wait on my own lady," she said, " and 
 I'll warrant the Mclvar can help himsen to any 
 thing he wants."
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 277 
 
 But she did not leave the young people a mo 
 ment alone. She thought it was only just and 
 grateful for Agratha to thank their captain for 
 his life and death struggle, but she had no idea 
 of inaugurating a fresh courtship. However, she 
 soon found that Agratha was still less inclined 
 to renew the past, and then her contradictious 
 nature began to upbraid the little girl for her 
 dour, unforgiving temper. 
 
 "You are just like your stubborn father," she 
 said. " Couldn't you have said a few kind words 
 to the poor lad, who nearly died to save you ? " 
 
 " Not true is that, Ladarine. As much for 
 you, and for everyone on board, he would have 
 died as for me. I thanked him. My dinner I 
 eat in his company. Far enough I went too far 
 when I remember how shamefully he has treated 
 me." 
 
 " Them Above has a word or two of directions 
 when things are guided that kind of a way. We 
 are told to pray for all that despitefully use us." 
 
 " Yesterday when Gael was fighting for our 
 lives, I prayed for him, to-day I eat with him. 
 It is enough. No further will I go." 
 
 " Jesus Christ said " 
 
 " I know, but he was talking to men. Lady 
 Moody said He could not know much about 
 women, and how could He understand what a 
 little girl like Agratha Van Ruyven would feel, 
 when she was suddenly deprived of fader and
 
 278 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 moeder and home, her honour put in doubt, and 
 all the hopes of her young life crushed by an 
 angry, proud, selfish man who then threw the 
 blame of his wickedness on his love for her. No, 
 Ladarine! I will not be friends with Gael Mc- 
 Ivar. Next thing he will want to make love to 
 me, next thing he will tell me I must marry him." 
 
 " I want thee to ask a favour from him for both 
 of us. Wilt thou do it or not ? " 
 
 I will not." 
 
 " Thou beats all for a stubborn, unforgiveable 
 lass. I wouldn't be like thee for anything." 
 
 " What favour do you want, Ladarine? " 
 
 " I want some grey dappled skies, and fresh 
 cool winds. I'm sick to death of sunshine, and 
 hot, scented air to breathe, and I would enjoy, 
 now and then, a splashing shower of white rain." 
 
 " Oh Ladarine ! I want all you want in that 
 way. I would give all the Grecian Isles for a 
 good breeze in the Fort, and a firm sheet of ice 
 on the Collect Pond. But I will not ask any 
 favour from Gael. No, indeed ! " 
 
 " Then I will." 
 
 " Ask nothing in my name." 
 
 " Not I. My own name is as good as any 
 other." 
 
 Ladarine found the captain of The Nautilus 
 in a mood to welcome her suggestion. " I am 
 sick myself for a breath of the Great Minch," he 
 said j oy fully , " and upon my word, I will turn
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 279 
 
 the ship's nose homeward, as soon as you like, 
 Miss Gilpin." 
 
 "Homeward! To New Netherland! Is that 
 what you mean, captain? " 
 
 " Homeward to Ross to the great waterways 
 of the Hebrides; Castle Ivar stands a thousand 
 feet above their tossing waves. And let me tell 
 you, Ladarine, it has by this time been thor 
 oughly prepared for your entertainment. For 
 before I left on this unfortunate voyage, I gave 
 directions for six of the best rooms to be refur 
 nished for my expected bride. The rooms 
 are no doubt ready, but the bride is yet to woo, 
 and I do not think you help me any, Ladarine." 
 
 " Thou may be thankful that I don't hinder 
 thee any." 
 
 " You might say so much in my favour." 
 
 " I might if I had got rid of my conscience. 
 And what will Lady Mclvar say to the guests 
 thou brings her? " 
 
 " In faith, if she says anything but what is 
 kind and wise, it will be for the first time in her 
 life. She will make you both welcome for my 
 sake, and likely find some way out of this cruel 
 dilemma." 
 
 " Don't thee forget that it is my young lady 
 that has the cruel part, it isn't thee at all. But 
 castle or cottage will be a God's blessing after 
 this sea prison." 
 
 " Well then, we are going to my mother ! "
 
 280 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 And he leaped to his feet, and ejaculated again i 
 " We are going to my mother ! Why did I not 
 go to her at once ? What a fool I have been ! " 
 
 " How soon then wilt thou be wise enough to 
 go to thy mother? " 
 
 "Let me tell you, I am just in the humour to 
 give the order now. Listen! and in a few 
 minutes you will hear that I have begun to act 
 wisely." 
 
 He ran swiftly to the deck, and Ladarine sat 
 still listening, and before she had time to raise a 
 doubt of his sincerity, she heard his voice ringing 
 out the promised order. The words were in 
 Gaelic, but she knew it was ** Home! " for he had 
 not ceased speaking before he was answered in 
 wild, joyful cheers of " Ivar ! Ivar! Ivar! " Then 
 came a tumult of hurrying feet, of shifting ropes 
 and canvas, while the boatswain's whistle thrilled 
 through the shouts and calls of the men, and 
 some new sense of joy swept all through the ship. 
 
 Agratha felt the change, and was conscious of 
 some unusual event. Her constant terror of the 
 Algerine pirates made her tremble, and not find 
 ing Ladarine in any of their cabins, she went to 
 the deck to look for her. The movements there 
 astonished her. Everyone appeared to be in a 
 happy hurry, and the inert, lazy looking crew 
 of a quarter of an hour ago, were full of some 
 delightful business. Gael stood at the main 
 mast, shouting out his sibilant Gaelic instruc-
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 281 
 
 tions. Ladarine stood at his side, and when he 
 turned his face to her, it was the face of a boy 
 whose heart was overflowing with pleasure. 
 Ladarine was watching a sailor climbing to the 
 mast head, and she did not take her eyes from 
 him until she saw The Blue Peter fly from his 
 hand over the ship, already turning homeward. 
 Then Gael flung up his cap with a shout, and 
 very man on the homeward bound craft joined 
 in the joyful salute. 
 
 Then Agratha went quietly back again to her 
 own little parlour " We are going home," she 
 thought, " but to whose home ? Oh, I do wish 
 Ladarine would come to me." 
 
 But Ladarine did not come for nearly an hour. 
 She was talking with Gael about the home he was 
 taking them to, and trying to extract from his 
 description as much comfort as possible for the 
 wandering girl longing despairingly for her own 
 home. But she delayed so long that Agratha 
 felt hurt by her apparent neglect, and, though 
 the feeling was absurd, a little jealous also of a 
 conversation so evidently interesting, and yet 
 which did not include herself. So when Ladarine 
 did appear she evinced no curiosity. There was 
 a new light on the woman's face, and a new tone in 
 her voice, but Agratha would not notice the 
 change. 
 
 Her air of calm dejection rather dashed the 
 eager woman, but she said in her strong, cheerful
 
 282 A MAID OF, OLD NEW YORK 
 
 way : " Try and cheer up a bit, Miss. We are 
 going to the captain's home the ship has turned 
 she is on her way North, and every length she 
 sails takes us nearer to cool weather, and dappled 
 grey skies. We'll find our feet on solid ground 
 soon, and we'll have large, handsome rooms to 
 live and sleep in, and some decent people to talk 
 a bit with. I'm sure I am fairly forgetting how 
 to talk, if it isn't on the one stale, weary sub 
 ject." 
 
 "Who told you this news, Lada? " 
 
 " The captain himself, and no other." 
 
 " You asked him to do so ? " 
 
 "I did, and I'm glad of it." 
 
 " It is not to be thrown up to me, Lada. I 
 warned you not to use my name." 
 
 " If there's any blame I'll shoulder it. My 
 word! but thy conscience is easy satisfied. I 
 had a notion that thou wanted to get away from 
 this eternal sunshine as much as I did. I thought 
 thou spoke that kind of a way; happen I was 
 mistaken." 
 
 " So we are going to Castle Ivar? Gael has 
 told me all about it. So! It has to be." 
 
 " Not so. Say the word and he will turn back 
 again." 
 
 " For me, I will have nothing to say in the 
 matter." 
 
 " The captain is delighted." 
 
 " There it is, but it is no good for me."
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 283 
 
 " Castle Ivar must be a fine place." 
 
 " It is one of those old, old, haunted castles, 
 that ought to be pulled down to its foundation. 
 That is what I think." 
 
 " I can tell thee the family think nothing of 
 that kind. Why! The captain says, half a 
 dozen large rooms have just been made fit for 
 men and women of this date to live in. And he 
 told me a deal about his mother. She must be 
 a wonderful woman. You would think, from that 
 young lad's way of talking about her, that she 
 was born before that silly body Eve meddled with 
 things she had nothing to do with. The tears 
 came to his eyes whenever he said the word 
 ' mother.' Poor lad ! " 
 
 " I don't want Captain Mclvar's moeder. I 
 want my own dear moeder. Oh moeder! moeder! 
 And look now, he can make me suffer month after 
 month, and never feel sorry that I want my 
 moeder. Well, you know, Lada, that is so." 
 
 " I know nothing of the sort. He has fretted 
 about thee constant. I don't say that thou de 
 serves it." 
 
 " Oh dear me, Lada ! Are you going against 
 me?" 
 
 " Don't thee talk nonsense. Thou knows well 
 enough that I'll stand by thee, right or wrong, 
 but I do think when everybody i: c'jJng their best 
 to please thee, thou might show a bit of interest 
 in what they are doing."
 
 284 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " What did Gael tell you, Lada? " 
 
 " Nay, I'll say nothing about it. He will be 
 only too glad to tell thee all, and more, than he 
 told me. Ask him." 
 
 '* I will not ask him for anything." 
 
 " That is a bit of common pride. I would be 
 above it, if I was thee. Chut! It would be far 
 more lady-like to take pleasantly all the man can 
 now do, than be nagging and nattering from 
 morning till night, about what it is out of the 
 man's power to do. But there! It takes noble 
 blood to bear nobly. Traders don't bear nobly. 
 Maybe they can't." 
 
 " Traders bear as well as nobles. Don't 
 be foolish, Lada. We are all equal in God's 
 sight." 
 
 " Get such silly notions out of thy head as 
 quick as thou can. Equals! We are far from 
 it in our own sight, and God sees a lot more of 
 us, than we see of each other. If thou had been 
 born a princess, thou would have found out a 
 good bit ago, that Gael's sin was partly his coun 
 try's sin, and partly his father's sin, and that thy 
 own father was a good bit to blame keeping a 
 man's letters and gifts was a low vulgar thing to 
 do and scoffing and laughing at a young man's 
 honourable advances a particularly ungentlemanly 
 bit of behaviour. And maybe, also, thou might 
 have found out, that others were suffering as well 
 as Agratha Van Ruyven. It hasn't been a pleas 
 ure-making to mysen, nor to Mary, who has five
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 285 
 
 little bairns at Ivar. And as for the young Lord 
 himsen, I think he has suffered quite as much as 
 thee; yet he has managed to put everybody's 
 sufferings before his own, and kept a cheerful 
 face, and had a cheerful word whatever happened. 
 He has borne his trouble nobly." 
 
 " Because he was a noble. Is that what you 
 mean? " 
 
 " To be sure it is." 
 
 " Well then, you are noble, for you have borne 
 your trouble nobly." 
 
 " Thou art all wrong there ! I have done my 
 share of grumbling, both to thee, and to others. 
 I have been ashamed of mysen every night. 
 Equality! " she cried scornfully, " there isn't such 
 a thing, either in nature or in human nature. 
 Chut! What the milk is, the cheese will be. 
 Where's your Equality? " 
 
 This conversation, though it did not please 
 Agratha, did her good. She began to wonder if 
 she had been selfish in her sorrow, and regardless 
 of the suffering of others, and the answer, she was 
 obliged to admit, was not a flattering one. But 
 she was cautious by nature, and did little upon 
 impulse, so they were nearing Gibraltar before she 
 had fully made up her mind to modify her conduct 
 towards Gael. One evening, just after sunset, she 
 went to the deck and she saw Gael standing by the 
 taffrail ; his face and attitude were melancholy 
 and aloof, and his gaze appeared to be on, or 
 even beyond, the horizon.
 
 286 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 She went gently towards him, and he was in 
 stantly conscious of her presence. But that she 
 should come to his side, and say in softest kindest 
 tones " Gael " was a thing far beyond his wildest 
 xpectation. Yet it was actually the case, and 
 when he bent his head to her and said tenderly: 
 
 " Oh, my dear one ! What can Gael do for 
 you ? " she answered : 
 
 " For one ten minutes walk with me, Gael. 
 There is something I wish to say to you." 
 
 Then Gael folded the little tartan shawl 
 closer about her throat, and drew her arm 
 through his own, and as he did so said: 
 
 " Whatever you wish, Agratha, if mortal man 
 can compass it, you shall have. What do you 
 desire? Let us sit down. It will be easier for 
 you to talk." 
 
 " Gael, when we reach Gilbraltar will you land 
 there? " 
 
 " For an hour or two. I have a friend in the 
 garrison to whom my letters are sent. I hope 
 to receive from him a letter from Lady Mclvar, 
 my dear mother." 
 
 " Gael, could you not write a few lines there, 
 to my dear fader and moeder, and say something 
 to comfort them ? " 
 
 This request Gael pondered a few moments, 
 then he answered : " Your father and mother are 
 certainly in Europe, looking for you. Do you 
 not think so? "
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 287 
 
 " Yes, but I know not where they may be. My 
 brother Wim would send on the letter. Yes, Wim 
 would surely do that." 
 
 " Listen, dear one. It will be better to write 
 to Lady Moody. She will know the quickest and 
 surest way to reach them." 
 
 " Oh yes ! Oh yes ! that is the truth. Tell me 
 what you will write." 
 
 " I will ask my friend to write for me, for my 
 writing is well known to Lady Moody, and I will 
 see that he says these words, and none else. 
 Listen: 
 
 ' To Councillor and Madame Van Ruyven. 
 Your daughter is well and not very unhappy. 
 She is treated with all honour and tender 
 care, and if you come to the Black Bull Inn, 
 Covent Garden, London, one week after her 
 twenty-first birthday, you will receive her 
 pure and sweet and lovely, as when she was 
 taken from you.' 
 Will that please you ? " 
 
 " It is just right, Gael. Now then, I trust 
 you to see it is written." 
 
 " Upon my honour, I will see it written just as 
 
 I have promised, as soon as we reach Gibraltar." 
 
 " I wonder me, that I did not think of this plan 
 
 before. Very much I thank you. Oh Gael! 
 
 Gael! Can I do anything for you in return?" 
 
 " Yes, dearest, you can do everything for me, 
 
 that makes life worth living ; " he pleaded for her
 
 forgiveness with such tender excess of feeling, 
 that ere long his tears dropped hot upon her 
 hands, and she was weeping with him. 
 
 After this explanation there was no possible 
 return to the austere coldness and silence of her 
 anger. Before she knew what she was saying she 
 was pardoning all. She was satisfying the long 
 ing hunger of her heart with his passionate pro 
 testations of love for her. She crept closer to 
 him, and within his encircling arm felt a peace 
 and joy that suffused her whole being with a 
 sense of unspeakable and infinite content and re 
 pose. 
 
 It had taken nearly two hours to come to this 
 satisfactory understanding, and Ladarine had 
 frequently been at the head of the companion way. 
 She knew what was transpiring, and she said to 
 herself as she saw they were going to part: 
 *' Now, Ladarine, you can go to bed and dream a 
 good dream. For the rest of our imprisonment, 
 we shall be as happy as the circumstances per 
 mit." 
 
 So that night Ladarine pretended to be asleep, 
 and Agratha was glad, and took care not to dis 
 turb her slumbers. To think over every sweet 
 word that Gael had said to her would be far 
 pleasanter than to talk with Ladarine. Yet 
 in the morning she called her as soon as she 
 awoke. 
 
 " Ladarine, if you are awake, come to me."
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 
 
 " I am very seldom asleep, Miss, and thanks be, 
 I am awake now if you want me." 
 
 " Come here, Lada. Now stoop. I have some 
 thing to tell you." 
 
 " No, thou hast not. I know what thou has to 
 tell me. I am neither blind nor deaf, unless I 
 want to be." 
 
 " Lada, I have made all up with Gael." 
 
 " Everybody on The Nautilus knew that last 
 night. Why a! the captain gave all hands a 
 silver crown apiece last night, and a bit of supper 
 and extra grog at eleven o'clock. My wordl 
 They were set up, and though they pretended not 
 to know the why, and the wherefore, every man 
 Jack of them was thanking you in his heart. 
 You have made a lot of misery these last few 
 weeks, Miss, and 'tis to be hoped for, and looked 
 for, that you will now redeem every bad hour 
 with a double good one; but Lord! what queer, 
 fickle, not-know-their-own-mind creatures, women 
 are." 
 
 " He is going to write to Lady Moody a letter 
 which she can send to fader and moeder. He will 
 write it when we are at Gibraltar." 
 
 " Oh h! That's the price thou asked, was 
 it?" 
 
 " He was glad to do it." 
 
 " I'll warrant. But I have nothing to say, for 
 it was mysen that set thee up to doing something 
 of that kind."
 
 290 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Oh no, Lada. It was my own idea. I have 
 been thinking of it for a long time." 
 
 " Bless my soul ! Well, I'm glad thou hast 
 stopped thinking, and taken to doing. Thinking 
 is shiftless work, doing turns out something, 
 either good or bad. And now I hope thou 
 art going to be a bit cheerful. I would like 
 to get some good from the rest of my travel- 
 ling." 
 
 The promised letter was faithfully written at 
 Gibraltar, and committed to the care of Gael's 
 friend, and two mornings afterwards they awoke 
 to the rain, and cold, and grey skies, they had 
 longed for. It had been a weary night with a 
 heavy sea, and the ship hammering through it, 
 every few minutes a big wave breaking over her 
 with a thrash like thunder. But towards morn 
 ing the waves were cowed by the steady flogging 
 of the heavy rain, and the damp, fresh air, with 
 its flavour of brine, seemed delightful to Agratha 
 and Ladarine. 
 
 They were nearly two weeks on the coast of 
 England, ere they reached Scotland and the outer 
 Hebrides. Then they came to a sea whose ever 
 lasting threat never slumbered, a wilderness of 
 waves, fear haunted and fear peopled. The grey 
 headlands of the rock-bound coasts smote all 
 hearts with some eerie sense of trouble, vague as 
 the background of dreams, and though Ladarine 
 pretended to be pleased with the change, she could
 
 CAPTIVES AT SEA 291 
 
 not help pitying in her heart all the wayfarers on 
 these lonely waters. 
 
 When they reached really the Great Minch it 
 was blowing in savage gusts, and a black sea 
 tumbling wild and high, sent smothering clouds of 
 spindrift over The Nautilus. Towards evening 
 the mountainous land of Ross was beginning to 
 shape itself on the horizon, and Agratha's heart 
 failed her, for land and sea alike appeared to be 
 only a vast desolation. 
 
 Past the Alps of Torridon, and past the Gair- 
 loch, northward to Loch Ewe, they went, feeling a 
 constant wondering awe in the wild wreck of 
 colossal masonry, piled along the coast by that 
 primeval deep which first began the fashioning 
 of the hills. Mile after mile the ruddy gneiss 
 was wrought into towers and turrets, spires and 
 minarets, whose vaporing outlines looked as if 
 they might be the sepulchre of some long forgot 
 ten hierarchy or empire. 
 
 At length it was evident they were near their 
 journey's end. The Nautilus was in spick and 
 span beauty, Gael in full Highland dress, and 
 every man on board had the light of home on his 
 face. At about three o'clock in the afternoon, 
 someone on deck blew a blast on a trumpet that 
 was taken up by a thousand echoes and sent far 
 and wide inland, and in an astonishingly short 
 time it was answered by a rattling peal from the 
 mountainous wilderness above them. There was
 
 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 an anxious wait of an hour, and then there ap 
 peared half a dozen stout little ponies, each led 
 by a man. From these Gael selected two, and 
 on their primitive saddles he placed Agratha and 
 Ladarine, but he himself refused to ride, for he 
 knew that he looked much handsomer walking at 
 Agratha's side. 
 
 It was not long before they reached Castle 
 Ivar. It stood on a wide rocky plateau, one thou 
 sand feet above the sea. It was a large, well-pre 
 served building of grey stone, wearing undis- 
 guisedly that strange past look, that the pre 
 historic castles of Scotland never want. The 
 piper was strutting down the mountain side play 
 ing a noisy " Welcome To the Chief " ; the bare- 
 armed henchmen were loitering about the court 
 and doorways, the maids were at the open win 
 dows of the great tower, and at the main entrance 
 stood a happy-looking, handsome woman who 
 stretched out her arms in loving welcome to her 
 son and his guests.
 
 AT CASTLE IVAE 
 
 THROUGHOUT her girlhood Agratha had been 
 fond of imagining herself in all kinds of romantic 
 situations, in which however there was always the 
 Prince who had to solve the mystery, or the diffi 
 culty of the condition. But never had her 
 dreams of a wonderful futurity been half so full 
 of romance, or half so improbably wild and 
 quixotic, as the reality of her present position. 
 The castle in which she found herself claimed to 
 have been a royal residence for some long for 
 gotten race of kings, and indeed it had a royal 
 air of spaciousness, remarkable in buildings of 
 the early date to which tradition, and its own 
 appearance, assigned it. 
 
 It was entirely built of grey stone, though the 
 interior walls in the modernised rooms were cur 
 tained and arrassed with the tapestry of Bruges, 
 and the floors covered with carpets from the 
 Scottish looms of Kidderminster. The furniture, 
 though black with age, was heavy and elaborately 
 carved, and of large, though primitive shapes. A 
 suite of six rooms had been prepared for Gael 
 and his bride, and these rooms were now assigned 
 293
 
 294 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 to Agratha and Ladarine. Many attempts had 
 been made in them to reproduce the comfort and 
 elegance of the furnishings of that day, but noth 
 ing could alter the atmosphere of the ancient place. 
 They were vibrant with a life that was not this 
 life, they were haunted by unhappy wraiths wait 
 ing for the hour of restitution or forgiveness, 
 there were soft touches from no visible presence, 
 and the shadow of sound from no earthly foot 
 falls; in short it was a great, ghostly, feudal 
 castle with the sea roaring below it through the 
 long winter nights, and the sobbing winds flap 
 ping the tapistry and rattling the arms in the 
 armory. Nothing could be more unlike the or 
 derly Dutch home, from which she had been so 
 ruthlessly taken away. 
 
 But the place fascinated her. She looked like 
 a little child in its big beds and chairs, but she 
 had all a woman's sensitiveness and adaptation. 
 Never having been taught to fear what was not 
 flesh and blood, she said with perfect truth to 
 Ladarine : 
 
 " Well then, if some poor wraiths are in these 
 rooms, very welcome are they. I hope that my 
 ways may not trouble them, but I think, Lada, 
 they may yet have likes and dislikes." 
 
 The provision made for her which pleased her 
 most of all came entirely from Lady Mclvar's 
 thoughtfulness. " My dear," she said early the 
 next day, " Gael's letter from Jamaica happened
 
 AT CASTLE IV AR 295 
 
 to name the perplexity you were in for clothing 
 and toilet articles, such as combs, brushes, per 
 fumes, pins, powder, etc., so I sent at once to 
 Edinburgh for all things necessary, and we have 
 a good mantua-maker in the clan. Come now, 
 and select the materials and we will set her to 
 work without delay. 
 
 " Oh, Lady Mclvar," cried Agratha, " that will 
 be to me a very great pleasure. Lada has done 
 her best, but I feel like a like a " 
 
 " A queen uncrowned. Ugly, shabby dresses 
 make any woman unhappy. Come and I will 
 show you many fine things." 
 
 Then she unlocked a large chest and showed 
 Agratha a great store of silks and muslins, of 
 cloths, laces, and ribbons, of gloves, belts, and 
 silk stockings, of fine linen and embroideries, and 
 to her uttermost wonder fashionable shoes and 
 sandals of many makes and colours. The latter 
 she touched with a look of wonder and asked 
 softly: 
 
 " May I try on a pair ? " 
 
 A smile and a nod answered her request, and 
 she found her small feet slip into the pretty 
 Morocco and satin coverings, very comfortably. 
 
 " They are exactly right. But how did you 
 get the proper size?" 
 
 " Gael and Ladarine together cut a paper sole 
 exactly the size and the shape of the slippers you 
 were wearing, and I sent the pattern to the best
 
 296 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 shoemaker in Edinburgh. You see what he did 
 with it." 
 
 " You have been so thoughtful for me, yet you 
 had never seen me, how can I thank you enough? " 
 
 " You will be Gael's wife some day, so then 
 you are as a daughter to me. I was happy to 
 do anything for you, and I hope we shall love 
 ach other dearly, both for Gael's sake and our 
 own." 
 
 In a short time Agratha and Ladarine ceased 
 to be guests in Ivar Castle, they became a part 
 of the household, fitting admirably into their sur 
 roundings. Agratha was much interested in the 
 renewal of her wardrobe, and quite contented to 
 sit and sew as she discussed the prettiest and most 
 becoming styles. Till she had a plentiful change 
 of new frocks, she was likely to find the needle and 
 the dressmaker the most satisfactory of compan 
 ions. 
 
 She had also in a large degree the Dutch love 
 of gardening. It hurt her to see bulbs and plants 
 in the ground, when they should be in the green 
 house, and in her own mind and perhaps also to 
 Lady Mclvar, and Gael she laid out such a gar 
 den for the next spring and summer, as had never 
 yet been seen in West Ross. In her room also 
 she found many volumes of poetry and history, 
 and a standing embroidery frame with silks and 
 wools of every shade and colour. Upon the 
 whole, she finally came to the conclusion that
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 297 
 
 Ladarine's advice was wise and good, and that it 
 would be well to grow happy and beautiful, 
 and enjoy such pleasures as were within her 
 reach. 
 
 Very soon the winter shut them in, absolutely 
 shut them in. On the landward side, black dan 
 gerous bogs made every road impossible; deep 
 snows strangled the mountain paths, and the 
 cheerless stormy Minch little travelled even in 
 summer was in winter lashed by constant storms, 
 and quite deserted save by solitary fishers, who, 
 now and then, found a day in which it might be 
 possible for a boat to live on its gloomy water. 
 For at the end of the seventeenth century the 
 Highlands of Scotland were unknown to the rest 
 of the world. Their attachment to the Stuarts 
 and their ferocity and courage in battle, was just 
 beginning to interest southern Scotland and Eng 
 land in their kilted warriors ; but of their temper, 
 culture, civil and domestic life, there was a dense 
 and universal ignorance. They were waiting 
 for the splendid introduction which Sir Walter 
 Scott was to give them a century and a half 
 later. 
 
 So Agratha lived in Mclvar castle a life nearly 
 as primitive as the patriarchs. This was especi 
 ally true of those clans which still clung to the 
 Roman Catholic faith, but wherever the preaching 
 of John Knox had penetrated there was a ten 
 dency to assimilate the modern spirit. The Me-
 
 298 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Ivar was one of these latter clans, for its present 
 Border mistress was of Covenanting descent, and 
 gave freely to all missionary preachers a welcome 
 to the Mclvar territory. 
 
 But in no way whatever had the broader creed 
 lessened the feudal adoration of the Mclvars for 
 their Chief, and Agratha was ever freshly inter 
 ested in Gael's absolute power, and the generous, 
 almost affectionate, way in which he expressed it. 
 Often she smiled pleasantly as she remembered 
 Governor Stuyvesant's love for unchecked power, 
 and pictured to herself the wilful, passionate man 
 in the midst of a clan, whose greatest joy would 
 be to do his will, no matter what that will might 
 be. But always she came to the same conclu 
 sion: 
 
 " He would be kind to them, yes indeed, he 
 would be kind to them. Of course there would 
 be clans that would not obey him, and how he 
 would enjoy fighting them until they did. Then 
 he would conquer all and make a Scotch Hep- 
 tarch, and call himself King Peter. Oh, indeed! 
 I think he would wake up the English, if he lived 
 in Ross. Why was he not born here, where he 
 could fight with his sword for his way instead of 
 being harried and worried with quarrelling 
 schepens for nothing at all? Dear Governor 
 Stuy vesant ! I wish that I could see him ! Shall 
 I ever see him again? " 
 
 Her windows overlooked the hills and folds to
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 299 
 
 which Gael's steps usually turned, and she could 
 watch him without anyone suspecting her in 
 terest. She saw him often among some little 
 brown huts nestling in the cliffs of the rock, mov 
 ing about with human beings and collie dogs and 
 great flocks of sheep. And the women kissed his 
 hands, and the men were ready to fall at his feet, 
 and the little lads followed him up and down, 
 perfectly happy to be wherever he was. Amid 
 all this adoration he carried himself like a young 
 prince, full of an affectionate courtesy, naturally 
 crowned with an unconscious dignity. 
 
 One day she watched him going up to the moun 
 tains with three or four men. They meant to 
 drive in some cattle, and their wicked long-horned 
 bulls into sheds, before an approaching storm; 
 and she saw him meet an enraged bull with a quick, 
 powerful lash across his eyes from the big whip 
 he carried in his hands. A little later, on the 
 same day, she stood with Lady Mclvar at his 
 side, holding ointments and bandages, while he 
 dressed an ugly gore the same animal had given 
 a youth of the clan. He soothed him with kind 
 words, and when he saw that he was like to faint, 
 he kissed him, and called him his " dear brother 
 Colin," and fed him with teaspoonfuls of brandy 
 and water. Every day there were such scenes 
 homely, sad, angry, suffering, but Gael was al 
 ways sent for, and generally he brought peace 
 and good-will out of racking pain, or passionate
 
 300 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 disputing. Yes, indeed! Young and old made 
 their hearts over to him. 
 
 It was such incidents that caused Agratha to 
 forget her own wrongs, in the admiration she 
 could not but give to his character and position. 
 Certainly his beauty, strength, grace and pic 
 turesque surroundings were all factors in this 
 admiration; but its foundation rested on qualities 
 beyond the evanescent charm of physical, or even 
 social advantages. 
 
 Not all at once, but day by day, this attraction 
 went on and grew stronger and sweeter; so that 
 before winter was over she had reconciled herself 
 to her new life. " Many young people went from 
 New Amsterdam to Holland for their education, 
 Ladarine," she would frequently say ; " they al 
 ways stayed away three or four years. I am in 
 no worse case. If I was at school I could not be 
 as well treated, and I should not have as many 
 pleasures." 
 
 " And don't thee forget the love that is so 
 freely given thee. It is worth counting, I can 
 tell thee that. There's lots of people worse off 
 than we are." 
 
 For Ladarine was well enough pleased with her 
 position. She had not been a month at Ivar 
 before she had become as necessary to Lady Mc- 
 Ivar as she had been to Lady Moody. First the 
 weaving room had attracted her. Ladarine was 
 Yorkshire, and what she did not know about the
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 301 
 
 carding and spinning of wool was not worth 
 knowing. She taught the women at the antique 
 looms much, and she directed the carpenter in 
 certain small alterations that made the work 
 lighter, and more surely correct. She was clever 
 in the still room, and a notable friend of the cook, 
 to whom she imparted the secrets of Yorkshire 
 pudding, Christ Church tarts, and other famous 
 local delicacies. In fact Ladarine was wanted 
 on every occasion, and she was always happy to 
 serve. 
 
 So in spite of storm and snow and the high 
 winds, on which the devil joyed to travel, the 
 two prisoners were not unhappy. Sometimes 
 Agratha had hours of deep depression, and of 
 acute longing for her parents and her home, but 
 the evening was sure to bring Gael back to the 
 castle, and the light in his eyes, the smile on his 
 lips, and the clasp of his hand, quickly changed 
 all trouble into joy. Then for the next few 
 hours, Ivar Castle stood nigh to the gates of 
 Paradise. 
 
 i At last Spring was over all the land, and there 
 is no land like interior Ross for beauty and sub 
 limity in the Spring. Then the great precipices 
 which guard the lovely valleys, are gleaming all 
 over with purple and green, and covered with a 
 fantastic network of the loveliest rose colour. 
 And the walls and the roofs of the little huts which 
 made the clachan in the valley, are coloured gold
 
 302 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 of lichen, rose of granite, and green of moss, 
 while their near-by peatstacks are full of intense 
 depths of purples and browns. 
 
 Lonely P Oh no! Out of these huts came 
 grand women robust of typical Highland beauty 
 brown eyed and red cheeked, with arms strong 
 to labour, and full bosoms to nourish their children 
 noble groups of whom clustered round the 
 cottages; healthy and happy, and clothed in all 
 kinds of picturesque rags. One boy it was im 
 possible to see and ever forget. His face was 
 wildly beautiful, and of the richest colour carna 
 tion glowing through brown; his ragged tartan 
 clothed him in vivid shades ; his legs were bare, 
 but he was lithe and graceful and shy as a young 
 stag, as he leaned against the rude walls of his 
 father's hut, gazing at a highland bull black as 
 coal, majestic as a king, marching heavily down 
 the valley with his harem of cream, tawny, and 
 red-brown cows around him. As for the boy, 
 he was soon persuaded to go with them to catch 
 some of the small delicious trout little half 
 pounders that in May are such dainty eating. 
 
 One afternoon, Gael and Agratha had been up 
 to the wilder hills, looking for ilex and arbutus. 
 It had been such a happy afternoon, but trouble 
 was waiting for them, sitting in Ivar Castle drink 
 ing wine and talking affectionately of Gael. 
 Suddenly both seemed to catch some sense of it. 
 " So cold it has become. Where is the sunshine,
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 303 
 
 Gael? " asked Agratha, and Gael answered wist 
 fully: " My dear one, I wonder what it is. Some 
 thing has gone wrong somewhere, perhaps it is 
 going to storm." Then after a moment's ex 
 amination of the horizon : " Here comes Rona, and 
 he is running like a wild stag. What news, I 
 Bonder? " 
 
 Rona brought a scrap of paper on which Lady 
 Mclvar had very hastily written, " Angus is here. 
 Do not let Agratha be seen. For your life men 
 tion her not. Mother." After reading these 
 words, Gael stood a moment in deep thought, 
 then he said: 
 
 " Rona, go back to Ivar very slowly, and say 
 I am coming. Remember you found me at the 
 upper trout stream, fishing. If you are asked, 
 you will say I was alone, save for Ian to carry 
 the flies and the creel alone Do you under 
 stand, Rona? 
 
 Gael watched the boy for a few moments as he 
 liesurely returned to the castle, then he turned 
 to Agratha and read her his mother's message. 
 "What think you, dear," he asked. 
 
 " Do what Lady Mclvar tells you to do. She 
 is always wise, always right. At the cascade we 
 will separate. I will go down to Mary's shelling, 
 and wait there, until you or Ladarine come for 
 me." 
 
 " I wonder what is the matter ! " and he looked 
 at Agratha with passionate longing and sorrow.
 
 304 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 "Are we to be separated? llhat would kill 
 me." 
 
 " Perhaps there is no great trouble. Do you 
 trust Angus? I do not. But he says he is your 
 friend ; well then, he may be he ought to be. At 
 a great cost you bought his freedom." 
 
 " He has never liked me since. He owes me 
 twelve hundred pounds. He promised as soon 
 as he reached his home to sell the wood off his 
 wild land and pay me. He sold the wood, bui; 
 went to Paris with the money. It was not an 
 honourable thing to do." 
 
 " What honour means, is unknown to Angus. 
 It is not of others, but always of himself he thinks. 
 Never did I like him, never did I trust him." 
 
 The rest of the walk they took silently. Gael 
 was full of apprehended sorrow, Agratha caught 
 the anxious fever from him. At the cascade she 
 smiled, unclasped her hand from his, and took the 
 right hand declivity, and then Gael, after watch 
 ing her out of sight, walked rapidly to the castle. 
 As soon as he entered the courtyard, Angus came 
 to meet him, and Gael said cheerfully : " I am glad 
 to see you Angus, when did you get home? " 
 
 "Yesterday, Gael." 
 
 " Straight from Paris? " 
 
 " No, we were a few weeks in London." 
 
 "How is Rose?" 
 
 " I am done with Rose. She has behaved badly 
 to us."
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 305 
 
 "Faith, that is hard to believe," answered 
 Gael, with a darkening face." 
 
 " I will tell you. She had a fine position in the 
 most aristocratic convent in Paris ; she had a lovely 
 little home, and was making a good deal of money, 
 and then, can you believe it, she breaks up every 
 thing, marries that Dutchman Roedeke, and goes 
 with him to New Amsterdam. Roedeke is said to 
 be rich, but Elsie and I saw none of his money." 
 
 " Well and good. You were above the dirt 
 iness of wanting his money, I am sure." 
 
 " Indeed we were not. We were almost at the 
 bottom of our purse, so we went back to London. 
 I tried all my friends there, and Elsie did her best 
 to charm, but those pock-pudding English have 
 no senses to charm. Instead of being won by 
 my wife's rare beauty, they insisted on asking me 
 unpleasant questions." 
 
 "What about?" 
 
 " About the condition of white bondmen in the 
 colonies. They were quite ready to send money 
 to help them to freedom, but they never thought 
 of my unfortunate condition." 
 
 " Your unfortunate condition, Angus ! you 
 make me astonished." 
 
 " Can there be any condition more unfortunate 
 than that of a noble without the means to live up 
 to the requirements of his rank? I was disgusted 
 with the English, but while in London I came 
 across something of great importance to you;
 
 806 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 so much so, that I immediately made haste north 
 ward." 
 
 "That something must be very important to 
 warrant such haste. Pray let me hear it with 
 out delay? " 
 
 " I found it all in the coffee houses, at the Ex 
 change, at Paul's Cross, at every public place." 
 
 ** Upon my word, Angus, you tax my patience. 
 What did you find? " 
 
 " This " and with a doleful face he offered 
 Gael a single sheet of printed paper. It seemed 
 to be of meagre importance, but as Gael read it, 
 his face blanched, and he bit his under lip with 
 fierce but well controlled passion. 
 
 "It was the common talk of the city," con 
 tinued Angus, " one could not go into a room in 
 London, without hearing the matter discussed. 
 And it was the same thing all the way northward. 
 Somehow people had found out that I knew you, 
 and I was invited here and there, just to be asked 
 questions. I protest I was flustered and flurried 
 for hundreds of miles about you, and your af 
 fairs." 
 
 "Gad! it is really complimentary. Think of 
 people for hundreds of miles taking so much in 
 terest in my affairs." 
 
 ** Not much of a compliment, Gael. Naturally 
 everyone takes an interest in a love affair, but 
 I must say in this case, the interest was all in 
 the lady."
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 307 
 
 " I am glad of that. You have just shown me 
 how mortified you felt when people took no in 
 terest in your pretty Elsie." 
 
 "Upon my honour, Gael, you take the affair 
 coolly! Yet it is an intolerable situation, and 
 that you may discover any hour." 
 
 " So soon ? It is a far cry to Mclvar. The 
 sea way, my men can make impossible, and unless 
 there is some traitor willing to guide men through 
 Ivar forest, and over Ivar mountains, they are 
 likely to remain in one place or the other forever. 
 I shall not disturb myself." 
 
 " You cannot live shut up in Ivar all your 
 life." 
 
 " I do not intend to cut so ridiculous a figure. 
 When I am ready to interview the Lord Chancel 
 lor, and the other gentlemen who wish to see 
 me, I shall go voluntarily to their society. 
 In the meantime, my mother and my seven hun 
 dred good brothers, will keep me from feeling 
 lonely." 
 
 " And perhaps someone else? " 
 
 " Faith yes, if it please you to say so." 
 
 " I do not say so, but everyone else does and 
 there may be such a thing as a traitor among your 
 good brothers." 
 
 " By Heaven, No ! There is not gold in Scot 
 land to buy a Mclvar to betray his chief, and 
 if there was, what good would his gold do him? 
 He would be tracked by seven hundred sleuth
 
 308 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 hounds, and when caught, bound naked to a tree 
 in Ivar forest, and every man would fling his dirk 
 at him. Lord! I would throw mine first, 
 straight into his black, false heart." 
 
 " Do not put yourself in a passion, for an 
 imaginary wrong, Gael; I thought I was doing 
 kindly to warn you, but it is always bad to meddle 
 with other people's affairs." 
 
 " It was well enough in your own case, Angus. 
 If someone had not meddled you would have been 
 in New Amsterdam to-day." 
 
 " I know that, Gael, and I am not ungrateful. 
 When I was in London, I called on Lord Thurlow 
 and thanked him for using his great influence, and 
 he treated me rudely, and told me to go home, 
 and said things about breaking parole that were 
 to me intolerable." 
 
 " He was right, for you were breaking your 
 parole." 
 
 " Now I must go, Gael. One cannot ride fast 
 yet, the bogs are so uncertain." 
 
 " Then you had better stay until morning." 
 
 " Elsie would die of fright in that lonely ruin 
 we call home. She wants to go back to Paris." 
 
 " That is impossible unless you again break 
 your parole to the Protector." 
 
 "Who is the Protector? Angus McAlpine is 
 King Charles's man ; " and he sang defiantly, the 
 cavalier song then in vogue:
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 309 
 
 " ' King Charles ! and who'll 'do him right now? 
 King Charles! whose ripe for fight now? 
 
 Give a rouse in hell's despite now 
 
 King Charles ! ' " 
 
 " Angus, you ought to have told the gentlemen 
 who were securities for your loyalty, that you 
 were King Charles's man." 
 
 " We are not agreeing this afternoon, Gael. I 
 will go ; to-morrow, ride over and see me." 
 
 So Angus left for his five mile ride, and Gael 
 called in his mother and showed her the paper in 
 his hand. She read it without any sign of fear 
 or anger, but said earnestly: 
 
 " Go at once for Agratha, and after tea we 
 will call in Ladarine, and talk the matter over. 
 Make sure of Agratha, your life hangs on her 
 word, Gael." 
 
 There was no pretence of secrecy about this 
 consultation. In the morning Gael would call 
 his clan together, and be as frank with them as 
 with his closer and more intimate relations. Yet 
 the condition was grave enough, for the shabby 
 bit of paper contained the following official no 
 tice: 
 
 One Thousand Pounds Reward 
 Hue and cry of all good citizens to secure 
 the person of Gael Lord Mclvar, who has 
 kidnapped the daughter of Mr. Paul Van
 
 310 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Ruyven of New Amsterdam in North Amer 
 ica. Said Lord Mclvar is twenty-two years 
 of age, tall, dark and handsome, with gallant 
 air and courtly manners. The lady is nine 
 teen years old, is exceeding beautiful, and 
 immensely rich. Any information leading 
 to Lord Mclvar's arrest, will be rewarded 
 by one thousand pounds paid by order of the 
 Lord Chancellor, who is the young lady's 
 guardian. Signed by 
 
 Reginald Brudenal. Lord Chancellor. 
 
 London 
 
 George Pembroke. Chief of Police. 
 
 The talk after tea was not very satisfactory. 
 Gael had made as light of the position as pos 
 sible to Agratha, but she had been greatly 
 shocked. " She would say little," he complained 
 to his mother. " She appeared to withdraw her 
 self, and to be quite stunned by the conditions 
 she would likely have to face." 
 
 In a large measure Gael was right. Agratha 
 was shocked at the danger her lover had incurred, 
 and she foresaw that she would be placed between 
 her father and her lover; and that to stand by 
 her father was to betray her lover to a shameful 
 death, while to stand by her lover would be a 
 heart break to her parents. It was a dilemma 
 out of which she could see no endurable way. 
 Nor was she indifferent to the report of her own
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 311 
 
 wealth. She had always longed for wealth, 
 dreamed of wealth, passed many hours of her life 
 in the imaginary spending of it. It quickened 
 her pulse to know that these longings and dreams 
 might soon be facts ; but she was annoyed that the 
 news should have come to her with so much shame 
 and sorrow. So when Ladarine was called into 
 council, she let her talk and said little herself, for 
 indeed she was not sure of her wishes, all her mind 
 seemed suddenly to be unsettled, but Ladarine 
 met the situation with her usual simplicity. 
 
 " We shall be under oath, every one of us," she 
 said, " and we must all tell the truth, or call God 
 Almighty to witness we are lying. I wonder," 
 she continued, " whether you know that the Lon 
 don officers are in the kitchen; at least, I sus 
 pect it is either them, or some blackguards of the 
 same sort. They came to the kitchen door just 
 at dark, and asked for a bite and a drink, and 
 shelter until morning." 
 
 " What makes you think they were officers of 
 the law, Ladarine ? " asked Gael. 
 
 " I found out, as nearly as they would let me, 
 that they had got safely across the bogs by fol 
 lowing the marks of McAlpine's horse's hoofs." 
 
 " Ah! " cried Gael, " but that is not possible! " 
 
 " You'll be as well to remember, he has just 
 come from London, sir." 
 
 " And what by that, Ladarine ? " asked Lady 
 Mclvar.
 
 312 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " Only this I think McAlpine has betrayed 
 the one he ought to have shielded with his 
 life." 
 
 Then Gael leaped to his feet. " It is not pos 
 sible ! " he cried. " It cannot be possible ! " 
 
 " It is most like to be," answered Ladarine. 
 " I saw enough of him to know that treachery 
 was bred in the bone of him, as it is in the bone 
 of the hawk or the wild cat. And what is there 
 Jie would not do for one thousand pounds? I 
 wouldn't wonder if these three men came from 
 London in his company, and it is like he engaged 
 to show your whereabouts, and did so by telling 
 them to follow the print of his horse's hoofs in 
 the soft ground. They must have done so ver^ 
 closely, or they had never got here." 
 
 " But he was here alone, a little while ago." 
 
 " Ay, to be sure, they would be waiting on the 
 edge of the pine belt, until the darkening let them 
 come unseen to the back door." 
 
 " In a few minutes I will know who led them 
 over Ivar Moss ! I will " 
 
 " Stop, Gael ! " cried Lady Mclvar. " Never 
 go to meet misfortune. Let the men alone until 
 they come to you." 
 
 " Sit down, dear Gael," pleaded Agratha, and 
 when she laid her hand on his shoulder he sat 
 down. 
 
 There was then a little more talk about Mc 
 Alpine, and Agratha sided positively with Lad-
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 313 
 
 arine in her estimate of the man's character. 
 " So ungrateful he was to his own sister," she 
 cried. " Poor Rose ! He deceived, and robbed 
 and left her. Why should he be true to Gael, 
 when to Rose he was so false and cruel? " 
 
 Then Gael rose. " I must go to my room," he 
 said. " This suspicion of Angus has turned my; 
 heart cold. I want to be alone with it." 
 
 Very early in the morning, three blasts from 
 a trumpet summoned the whole clan. They came 
 tumbling down from the mountains, and scram 
 bling up from the fishing clachan on the sea shore ; 
 they came from the shops and the looms and the 
 ploughs, from the the dyeing shed, and the stables 
 and kennels hastily they came, talking and whist 
 ling, and wondering what the Mclvar had to say 
 to them. 
 
 As soon as they had filled the courtyard Gael 
 appeared. He was in full Highland dress, and 
 as soon as he showed himself on the highest step 
 of the high flight which led to the main entrance, 
 he lifted his crested Glengary in greeting to them. 
 They answered him with eager, happy cries of 
 
 "Ivar! Ivar! Ivar!" 
 
 snapping their fingers wildly to the not unmusical 
 cheering. Then he resumed his cap, and there 
 was a few moments of silence, ere Gael, holding 
 the " Hue and Cry " uplifted in his hand, read it 
 aloud to them. He translated it into Gaelic as 
 he went on, and the version lost nothing by the
 
 314 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 translation. Before the reading was finished, 
 there was an indescribable tumult of sympathy, 
 potently mingled with the striking of dirks, and 
 that low, passionate ejaculation with which High- 
 landmen urge themselves on to fight " Sa! Sa! 
 Sa! Sa! " every syllable rising in tone and pas 
 sionate inflection. 
 
 Gael stilled the uproar with a movement of his 
 hand, and then proceeded to explain his position 
 to them in their own tongue. In its sibilant ex 
 pressive S S S ing sounds, he poured scorn 
 and ridicule upon the law which would hang a 
 Highland gentleman for " lifting " the lady of 
 his choice; and he was uproariously supported. 
 He gave them the word of Mclvar that he had 
 neither known, nor cared, whether the lady had 
 a shilling or not. He loved her, and he believed 
 she loved him, and was not Love the bond of mar 
 riage between Highlandmen and their wives? and 
 when he made this appeal a low, tender cry of as 
 sent answered it. 
 
 At this moment Agratha with Lady Mclvar 
 stepped from the enclosure of the open door to 
 his side, and he asked, " Is she not worthy of 
 Love? Is she not worthy to be the mother of 
 Ivars? Speak for me, men of Ivar." And with 
 a great shout they answered: 
 
 "The Lady Agratha! The Lady Agratha! 
 She is worthy ! " 
 
 When he spoke again, his tone changed, his
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 315 
 
 face grew dark, his eyes flashed, and he held his 
 dirk, as he continued: 
 
 " My Brothers, there has been a traitor in 
 this business. If there had not been, I could have 
 dwelt among you until the lady was her own mis 
 tress and free to marry me in the face of the 
 world. As you know, there are two months in 
 the year, that men with a good guide might pos 
 sibly reach Ivar Castle, through Ivar forest, or 
 or over Ivar mountains well I should always have 
 been with Conal on the highest Bens, shooting 
 ptarmigan during those months. For the rest of 
 the year, Ivar castle was safety enough. But 
 my brothers, there has been a traitor in this busi 
 ness. If there had not, how could three men, 
 three Saxon clods, have found their way into 
 Ivar Castle in the early spring, while the upper 
 snows are yet melting. Yet there the men sit, 
 eating our food, and waiting to take me me! 
 Gael! Chief of Clan Ivar! to some black English 
 prison house, because I have dared to love a girl 
 who is a ward of the Lord High Chancellor of 
 England, and who I am told to-day has a great 
 deal of money. I never thought of the Lord High 
 Chancellor, and I did not know that the girl had 
 any money, and I did not care whether she had or 
 not. Why should a Mclvar want to marry 
 money? The fens and the lochs, the pastures, 
 and the great sea are our heritage. We seek our 
 food from God. We could live comfortably, if
 
 we never saw a shilling. Is there a man stand 
 ing here who would marry a girl because she had 
 some money in her hand? Look at our sons and 
 daughters ! Do they lack anything of being per 
 fect men and women? Nothing. For they are 
 the children of Love, and not the children of 
 gold." 
 
 Wild, joyful cries of assent answered this 
 statement, and then a very old man in front of 
 the assemblage asked: 
 
 " My chief and my brother, name the traitor. 
 Never shall he betray any other." 
 
 " The man has eat at my table, and drank 
 from my cup. He has had twelve hundred pounds 
 of my gold, and he would give me the gallows in 
 payment. He was a bondman, and I set him free, 
 he would marry, and I loaned him five hundred 
 pounds. Alas! Alas! You all know the man 
 my playmate, my schoolmate, my friend " and 
 Gael was silent, overcome by the intensity of his 
 feeling and passion. 
 
 " We know him ! He is a son of the Devil ! He 
 shall go deep down to hell, head foremost ! " 
 
 It was Alastar, the mighty hunter, who spoke 
 these words, and as he did so he lifted up his gun 
 and swore the oath over it. Then out sprang 
 dirks and knives from every belt, and the tumult 
 of angry voices was indescribable. 
 
 Suddenly three men stepped forward, and two 
 of them would have laid their hands on Gael's
 
 AT CASTLE IVAR 31T 
 
 shoulders, had he not shouted in a voice of power 
 and passion: 
 
 " Hands off! Touch me, and my men will tear 
 you to pieces. Have you no senses? Look at 
 them!" 
 
 " In the name of the law " 
 
 " In the name of the Devil, touch me not ! And 
 speak not to me ! " and his passion was so terrible 
 that Lady Mclvar and Agratha covered their 
 faces and feared to look at him. Meanwhile the 
 clan in a black silence had edged closer to their 
 chief, and some were standing on the steps around 
 him. Then Gael, through some miracle of latent 
 power more than recovered himself. He stood 
 there like some bright young incarnation of Power 
 and Strength, and in a voice that was vibrant 
 from the proud, resolute heart that informed it, 
 said: 
 
 " Saxon hounds of the Saxon law, listen to me ! 
 I will not go with you. You shall remain here, 
 until I permit you to return to those who sent 
 you. How long you may stay I know not, per 
 chance the rest of your lives. You will have bed 
 and board, while you behave peaceably, and you 
 are free to wander where you will, even to Mc- 
 Alpine, if you believe you will ever reach his home. 
 Beware of the moss and the peat bogs. Beware 
 of the slippery hill sides, tjiat may dash you a 
 thousand feet below them. Remember it is easy 
 to lose yourselves on the mountains, and to go
 
 318 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 for a walk on the open moor and never come back. 
 The wild bulls are savage in the pastures, and the 
 stags on the mountains will not suffer you. Our 
 dogs love not strangers, and the snakes are no 
 respecter of persons. You could not live on the 
 North Minch twelve hours, if you have not a good 
 ship and a captain that knows all its ugly moods, 
 so you need not look seaward. But you may 
 make the best of the situation, for here you will 
 remain, until I return. Now you may go. Come 
 not into my sight again." 
 
 Then turning to his clan, he stretched out his 
 hands and lifted his cap in a mute dismissal. 
 And they watched him with proud affection as he 
 stood a moment with Lady Mclvar and Agratha 
 in the open doorway. They knew no one to com 
 pare with him, and they went to their homes to 
 talk over this great affair, and to love, pity, ad 
 mire, and praise him to their hearts' content.
 
 CHAPTER TWELVE 
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 
 
 ALL was now hurry and confusion in Castle Ivar, 
 for Gael gave orders at once to look after The 
 Nautilus and have her ready for sea in three days. 
 Lady Mclvar was locking away and packing, with 
 Ladarine helping her. But Agratha had a special 
 anxiety, and in spite of the general haste and 
 preoccupation, she felt obliged to speak to Gael 
 on the subject. 
 
 " It is this, Gael," she said to him with eyes 
 full of tears, " my fader must have been the means 
 of sending those men now in the castle, yet they 
 brought no letter for me no letter either from 
 him, or my moeder." 
 
 Gael started at this statement. *' Oh, my 
 Dear One ! " he answered, " how selfish and un 
 kind we have all been to forget that likelihood. 
 Perhaps there is one. Let us go and inquire." 
 
 The chief of the three men being questioned, 
 tremblingly admitted that there had been a let 
 ter for the young lady, but said that it had mys 
 teriously disappeared during the night they slept 
 at McAlpine. 
 
 " It was with my other papers when I went to 
 319
 
 320 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 bed," he said, " but in the morning I could not 
 find it. The gentleman who sent the carriage 
 and horses to bring the young lady comfortably 
 to London, also sent the letter. He gave me a 
 sovereign to put it into her hand, but I could 
 not, for it was stolen gone somehow and some 
 where I know not." 
 
 " Oh Gael, then when I get to London, I shall 
 not know where to find fader and moeder." 
 
 " Upon my soul, Agratha, this is past endur 
 ance. I will send Donald immediately to McAl- 
 pine, with a letter to Angus, saying the letter 
 .must be there, and must be sent here." 
 
 " If you will, Gael it is a trouble and I am 
 sorry you are so busy." 
 
 " Faith, Dear, there is no more important busi- 
 jiess than just this need of yours. Donald shall 
 go at once. I think he will bring your let 
 ter." 
 
 Late in the afternoon Donald returned from 
 McAlpine without the letter, and with the as 
 tonishing news that Angus had appropriated the 
 strong, comfortable carriage sent for Agratha 
 and Ladarine, and with his wife had gone to Lon 
 don in it. 
 
 "The black scoundrel!" muttered Gael; then 
 turning to Agratha, he said, "Do not trouble 
 yourself. Sure, my dearest, everybody in any 
 connection with this case, must know your fath 
 er's address."
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 321 
 
 " But these three men? None of them knew it."" 
 
 " They belong to any case, or to every case. 
 But sure, my love, the Lord Chancellor knows 
 it. Your father went straight to him, or he had 
 not signed the warrant for my arrest by the Hue 
 and Cry. You can get it from him, on your ar 
 rival in London." 
 
 Then he was urgently needed on The Nautilus 
 and was obliged to leave Agratha with her trouble. 
 And he was sad and fearful; he felt as if Agra- 
 tha's heart was wholly fixed upon her return to 
 her parents. For a moment this feeling dashed 
 all his energy, but it only needed one thought of 
 Angus and his infamous treachery to send him 
 again with almost unnatural haste and vigor to 
 preparations for the journey to London. 
 
 Fortunately The Nautilus was in good condi 
 tion and perfectly seaworthy. She was already 
 at her pier, and men were waiting to put on board 
 the stores and victualling which Lady Mclvar 
 and Ladarine were preparing. Another crowd 
 were busy ballasting her with the grey rocks ready 
 to their hand. 
 
 "Is there really need for so much hurry?" 
 asked Lady Mclvar. " I am almost distracted, 
 Gael." 
 
 " Indeed, dear mother, our hurry is a matter 
 of some importance. It will break my heart if 
 that dog of a man reach London before me. He 
 must not get that thousand pounds. I will de-
 
 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 liver myself to justice. No man shall sell me into 
 the power of the law." 
 
 " Can we manage it, Gael? " 
 
 " Indeed I think so The roads are past de 
 scription by Inverness and Perth, and as far as 
 Stirling, the snow in many districts is lying. If 
 they reach the border without accident, it will be 
 because the devil is driving them to some deeper 
 destruction further on. If the winds favour us, 
 we may be in Portsmouth within three weeks, and 
 from Portsmouth a coach will take us to Lon 
 don in thirty hours. Dear mother, this is the 
 turning point of my life, sure you will help 
 me? " 
 
 " My boy, both I and Agratha will stand at 
 your shoulders." 
 
 " I fear, Agratha " 
 
 " You wrong her. She is true to you as as 
 I am." 
 
 In less than three days The Nautilus was fly 
 ing southward before the wind. Agratha and 
 Ladarine had their old rooms, Lady Mclvar oc 
 cupied her son's luxurious cabins, and for more 
 than a week the weather, though cold and windy, 
 was clear, bright and almost intoxicating with 
 the electricity and ozone that revel in the North 
 Minch atmosphere, no matter what the conditions 
 of the weather. Everyone on board was blithe 
 and cheerful, at least until they were well down 
 the English coast, and had been quite deserted by
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 323 
 
 the invigorating inspiring breath of the sea, roar 
 ing through Hebredean waterways. 
 
 At last London was reached, but it was late 
 at night and all were exceedingly weary. They 
 went direct to the Ivy Bush hostelry in High 
 Holborn, had a good meal and slept so well in its 
 big, comfortable beds, that all were ready for 
 breakfast by nine in the morning. Gael noticed 
 at once that Agratha was dressed for the street, 
 and Agratha also noticed that Gael had changed 
 his garb of old Gaul for the ordinary dress of a 
 gentleman of that day. It was of rich material, 
 but had the Puritanical plainness affected by the 
 court of Oliver Cromwell. Yet Agratha was 
 charmed by its sombre beauty; the loss of the 
 curled wig, of the laces and ribbons, was no loss; 
 she thought Gael far more manly and purposeful 
 In his black velvet and plain linen. 
 
 Gael was going to call on Lord Thurlow for 
 advice before surrendering himself to the police, 
 and Lady Mclvar was going with him. Agra- 
 tha's destination was the hotel to which the let 
 ter sent from Gibraltar directed her parents. 
 She believed they would be there, because it was 
 the only link to her they possessed. Gael called 
 a chair for her, and then they stood silent. The 
 time for parting had come. In an hour or two 
 she would doubtless be with her father and 
 mother, and he would likely be in prison. Where, 
 and when, and how, would they meet again? He
 
 324 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 looked at her with his soul in his eyes. He trem 
 bled. He was dumb with sorrow. He wrung his 
 strong young hands, and wept as only strong 
 young men can weep. " Oh Agratha ! " he 
 sobbed, and his voice was like a sword in her heart. 
 
 "It is the only way, Gael, the only way. I 
 must go to my fader and moeder. I must! Oh, 
 my Love ! My Love ! " 
 
 " Do not forget me ? " 
 
 " God knows ! Not while I live. Thyself, and 
 no other will I marry. If not thee then none." 
 
 " If I should have to die." 
 
 " For my sake thou would die Well then, with 
 thee I would die." 
 
 " If they ask you to say words that will slay 
 me?" 
 
 " I will not say them." 
 
 " If those words were truth? " 
 
 " I will not say them." 
 
 " Would you lie for me? " 
 
 " Yes, if it were to save thy life." 
 
 " Oh, my darling, your goodness is beyond be 
 lief." 
 
 Then he put her in the waiting chair, and as 
 they parted she whispered : " Gael, dearest Gael ! 
 Thine only I will be. In life or death thine 
 only ! " and so, with a smile, passed from his sight. 
 
 Alas! Agratha's visit to the Black Bull Inn 
 was quite fruitless. No one called Van Ruyven 
 was there, or ever had been there. The hostess
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 1 325 
 
 was perhaps unnecessarily positive as to that 
 fact. Agratha stood for a moment confused and 
 disconcerted. Then she remembered the Lord 
 Chancellor, and she directed the bearers to carry 
 her to the Court of Chancery. 
 
 There was quite a crowd in the yard, and the 
 number of lawyers in little grey wigs and black 
 gowns flitting about, seemed to Agratha a fear 
 some sight. " What trouble there must be in. 
 the world ! " she thought, " for people in trouble 
 always want a lawyer." At the main entrance 
 to the hall the chairman opened the door of her 
 sedan, and she said to someone, also in wig and 
 gown, who was standing there, " I wish to see the 
 Lord Chancellor." 
 
 " He has not come down to the Court yet," 
 was the answer. 
 
 " How soon will he come down ? " 
 
 " Perhaps in ten or fifteen minutes." 
 
 " Can I wait here ? " she asked. 
 
 " First door to your right hand," he answered ; 
 then glancing into her lovely, anxious face, he 
 added, " I will show you," and he turned the 
 handle of a door, and said in reassuring tone, 
 " he is sure to be here to-day, perhaps in teii 
 minutes." 
 
 With a smiling " thank you," Agratha entered 
 the room. It was a gloomy little room plainly 
 furnished with a centre table, and some oak 
 chairs. At the table a man sat eating a thick
 
 326 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 mutton chop, dressed with shredded shalots, and 
 sipping Burton ale. He looked at Agratha, but 
 did not speak, yet if his thoughts had found 
 words, they would have been, " By George, what 
 a beauty ! " 
 
 For a few minutes he watched her anxious face 
 and restless movements, then he asked pleasantly 
 enough : " Whom are you seeking, my pretty 
 maid? " 
 
 "The Lord Chancellor, sir," she replied. 
 
 " Oh ! " and he turned round in his chair, 
 looked at a big clock behind him, and said : " You 
 will have to wait ten minutes perhaps longer. 
 Lord Brudenel is not very punctual; he has to 
 care for himself and all his whims, first." 
 
 "Not right is that. For the people waiting, 
 he ought to care." 
 
 "He doesn't, not a bit. Can I do as well? 
 [What is it you desire ? " 
 
 " Only the address of Paul Van Ruyven ; a gen 
 tleman of New Amsterdam." 
 
 "I know. And pray what is your name? " 
 
 " Agratha Van Ruyven. I am his dauhter." 
 
 " Really ! Do you know that Agratka Van 
 Ruyven is at present the talk of the town? And 
 it is you, that ran off with Lord Mclvar? " 
 
 "I did not run off with Lord Mclvar." 
 
 "Then he ran off with you and little blame 
 [to him." 
 
 " Lord Mclvar did not run off with me."
 
 , GAEL'S TRIAL 327 
 
 "What then?" 
 
 " It was an accident." 
 
 "An accident!" 
 
 " Nobody intended to run away." 
 
 "Well then, how?" 
 
 " It just happened. I wish you could give 
 me my fader's address. For one year I have not 
 seen my fader and moeder, so then my heart is 
 in a great hurry." 
 
 "I understand. I will get what you wisK,, 
 Ring the bell at your right hand." 
 
 While Agratha obeyed this request, he pen 
 cilled a few lines and sent them by an attendant; 
 to Sergeant Rollins. " Bring me an answer in 
 five minutes," he said. 
 
 " That quick way; of doing things is what I 
 like," said Agratha. " It is Governor Stuyve- 
 sant's way." 
 
 " So you know Governor Stuyvesant." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Many people do not speak well of him." 
 
 "That is because they are bad people." 
 
 "Do you like him?" 
 
 " No. You cannot like Governor Stuyvesant, 
 as if he was something nice to eat You either; 
 love him, or hate him. I love him." 
 
 " Then I suppose he loves you? " 
 
 " Very much he loves me ! He had his secre 
 tary give me lessons. He always sent me a New; 
 Year's gift, yes, and also a birthday gift, and
 
 328 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 when there was a ball at the fort he wished 
 me to be present. He called me his little 
 ward." 
 
 " Do guardians give their wards New Year's 
 and birthday presents ? " 
 
 " It is their duty, if they are good guar 
 dians." 
 
 " Do you know what a ward is ? " 
 
 " It is someone you take care of, if care is 
 seeded. My moeder told me the guardian in the 
 Dutch Kirk is like the Godfather in the Lutheran 
 Church." 
 
 "Lutheran Church! What church is that?" 
 
 " The English church, of course." 
 
 " Why did you have a guardian, when you 
 were living with your father? " 
 
 " I suppose if my own fader died, he was to 
 be a fader to me just like a godfather." 
 
 " Have you seen the Hue and Cry for Lord 
 Mclvar's arrest ? " 
 
 " It was brought to Ivar Castle, by that in 
 famous creature, Lord McAlpine." 
 
 "Infamous?" 
 
 '' Yes. Listen. He was a bondman in our 
 house, and served us four years " 
 
 " Are you telling a fairy story ? " 
 
 " The truth I tell you." Then in short, vivid 
 sentences she gave her listener the whole tale of 
 Mclvar's devotion, and Me Alpine's treachery; 
 even to the taking of the carriage sent by her
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 
 
 father for her use. The man listened with in 
 tense feeling, and accompanied her recital by a 
 commentary of very ugly words. 
 
 " It is a bad tale," he said when she ceased. 
 
 " It brought us to London, for Lord Mclvar 
 will surrender himself to the Lord Chancellor, 
 rather than let McAlpine have the money for his 
 treachery." 
 
 " He will not get the money." He was read 
 ing a slip of paper as he spoke and he looked up 
 from it to Agratha, and said pleasantly : " Mr. 
 and Mrs. Van Ruyven are staying at the Char 
 ing Cross Hotel." 
 
 Then she rose in a happy hurry, all smiles and 
 thanks, and the man went with her to the outer 
 door, and after putting her in her chair, stood 
 a moment to get the last look of the lovely face 
 bending forward to give him a final smile. 
 
 At the Charing Cross Hotel she found all pro 
 pitious. A comely woman in a large lace capi 
 trimmed with pink ribbons, said a cheerful good- 
 morning as she approached the bar, and when 
 asked if Mr. and Mistress Van Ruyven were stay 
 ing there, answered : " To be sure they are, and 
 right welcome they be." 
 
 " Will you take me to their rooms ? " 
 
 " Maybe you had better be announced first. 
 The old lady is but poorly." 
 
 " No ! no ! I am their daughter, and I have 
 not seen them for a year."
 
 330 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " God-a-mercy ! I will show you the way right 
 gladly." 
 
 Up some queer low stairs they went. There 
 was a wide window at the little landing half way 
 up, and across this window a long box of the 
 small old-fashioned mignonette, whose heavenly 
 scent filled the whole place with an enthralling 
 perfume. The landlady pointed to a door nearly 
 opposite the stairway, and said softly, as if there 
 was something sacred in the information: 
 
 " God bless you, bairn ! your mother is in 
 there." 
 
 Very gently Agratha opened the door indi 
 cated. The room was darkened, and Ragel Van 
 Ruyven appeared to be asleep on a couch. Her 
 husband sat by her side. His head was bent, and 
 his appearance despairing. The opening of the 
 door disturbed neither the sleeper nor the 
 watcher, but when Agratha cried out " My fader! 
 My moeder ! " and ran towards them, Paul Van 
 Ruyven leaped to his feet with a look of wonder 
 and joy, and the mother raised herself with a 
 sharp cry to a sitting posture her white face 
 and white garments making her look like a ghost 
 at the call of the resurrection the look of one 
 who had been dead and who felt suddenly the stir 
 of life. 
 
 In a moment Agratha was kneeling between 
 them, kissing and comforting her mother, while 
 her father was unconsciously crying over the lit-
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 331 
 
 tie hand she had stretched out to him. But of 
 the precious hours that followed, full of the ten- 
 derest confidences of love that asked nothing but 
 love, of sweet sorrows and sweeter pardons, the 
 record is in Heaven. Earth knows it not. 
 
 The next morning Lady Mclvar called on 
 Madame Van Ruyven, and the two women liked 
 each other on sight. Indeed it was difficult for 
 anyone to resist the delightful cheerfulness of 
 Lady Mclvar. She took the sick woman in her 
 care at once, promising Agratha to have her well 
 in a month. Quite openly, she gave the anxious 
 girl a letter from Gael, and advised her to go with 
 him for a walk in Hyde Park. " He is waiting 
 at the bar for you," she said, " and your mother 
 and I can do very well by ourselves." 
 
 "But Gael? Can Gael walk in the park? I 
 thought I feared " 
 
 " Gael will tell you of his good fortune. Go 
 to him quickly." 
 
 " But very soon you must be back, Agratha? " 
 
 " Let us give them a couple of hours, Madame," 
 said Lady Mclvar. " They are young, and they 
 love each other. Gracious ! What a glory that 
 is! We will not tithe their happiness. As for 
 ourselves, there are many things we ought to 
 discuss." 
 
 "About Gael?" 
 
 " About Agratha also. It is clear as daylight, 
 whatever concerns the one, concerns the other.
 
 332 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 To tell you the story shortly, when I was young 
 and fair, the great Lord Thurlow was my lover, 
 and by all that is true and good, he has not for 
 gotten how sweet were those days of our hopes 
 and dreams. Once, nearly two years ago, I 
 tested his remembrance; that was to help Gael 
 to procure the release from bondage of Lord Mc- 
 Alpine." 
 
 " An ungrateful creature." 
 
 " When a Highland Scot is bad, he is the worst 
 of all men. He cannot be half way bad he is 
 bad all through bad to the core. Well, I tried 
 Thurlow's love again yesterday. It was fresh 
 and green as ever. He took to Gael at once, was 
 charmed with him, and said with a sigh, that ' he 
 might have been his son.' Indeed he was eager 
 to find out how he could help me. I told him 
 truly the whole story, and he positively enjoyed 
 it. I said I supposed Gael would have to go to 
 prison, and I wished it could be to the Tower, for 
 I had a horror of Newgate." 
 
 " So! he really enjoyed the story, how could 
 he? A very sad story it was to us," said 
 Madame Van Ruyven. 
 
 '' Yes, dear, but men look on escapades of this 
 kind differently to mothers and fathers. Thur 
 low had been near to running off with me him 
 self, but Mclvar reached that point first." 
 
 " Mclvar ran off with you? " 
 
 '* Yes, galloped twenty miles with me at the
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 333 
 
 first stretch. We were followed by the John 
 stons and Musgraves and Eockerbys, and a 
 crowd of border gentlemen, but they never over 
 took us, for Mclvar had relays of fresh horses 
 waiting all the way." 
 
 " Were you rich? " 
 
 " Yes, I had plenty of money." 
 
 " What did Lord Thurlow say about the 
 Tower?" 
 
 " He said we must attend to that subject at 
 once and that he would go with us to the Lord 
 Chancellor who was even then holding court at 
 Westminster. So to Westminster in Lord Thur- 
 low's coach we went and had a present audience 
 with the Chancellor. He also was kind to Gael, 
 and asked him many questions, which I am proud 
 to say, my son answered with great discretion." 
 
 " But what about prisoning him? " 
 
 " He said Gael need not be imprisoned, if he 
 could find anyone to become surety for his ap 
 pearance in ten thousand pounds. Thurlow said 
 he would give his personal gage, then and there, 
 which he did in some way satisfactory to the law." 
 
 " Did the Lord Chancellor speak of Agratha? " 
 
 " He asked many questions about her, and 
 among others if Gael had any picture of a 
 beauty that could make a young man stand under 
 the gallows for her. And it so happened that 
 Gael had a miniature that a Greek painted for 
 him, when The Nautilus was drifting among the
 
 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 Grecian Isles last summer. And the Chancellor 
 looked long at it." 
 
 "What did he say?" 
 
 " That this case was his particularly. The 
 young lady had been put under his special care 
 by her uncle, whom he knew well, and that it was 
 going to be in a remarkable manner a case for 
 the conscience, and not for the lawyers." 
 
 "What did he mean?" 
 
 " The Lord High Chancellor is the keeper of 
 the King's I mean the Protector's, conscience 
 and sits as judge upon equitable grounds, 
 without regard to what the law requires. In 
 deed he said plainly that Agratha's kidnapping 
 was clearly in defiance of the law, and if judged 
 by the law, the lad must die. But, he added, we 
 shall not judge it by the law, but by that unfor 
 tunate chain of circumstance, which seem to have 
 forced on an illegal conclusion." 
 
 "That is good, is it not?" 
 
 "It is everything." 
 
 " And Lord Thurlow will stand by Gael? " 
 
 " He promises so much, and he took Gael home 
 with him, declaring he must keep him in sight for 
 the sake of his ten thousand pounds. So Gael 
 is to stay in Thurlow House, and report three 
 times every day to its master." 
 
 " How soon will the trial be? " 
 
 " Perhaps not until late in the summer, and 
 again it might be before the midsummer holidays.
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 335 
 
 It appears there is great public feeling on the 
 subject and London will stay in London for the 
 trial even the Protector is interested, and our 
 children are in the mouths of all, and the hearts 
 of many." 
 
 From these few facts it is easy to construct 
 the comparatively happy lives that both the Mc- 
 Ivars and Van Ruyvens now possessed. In the 
 first place, Madame Van Ruyven rapidly regained 
 her health, and spent most of her time in Lady 
 Mclvar's company. They went to all the won- 
 derfuls in town, and passed long hours together 
 shopping, growing closer to each other every day. 
 
 Paul Van Ruyven also found the recreations 
 that pleased him most. He listened to the Par 
 liamentary debates, he followed the great Crom 
 well about, he read the news in the coffee houses 
 and change houses, and enjoyed the eloquence of 
 the preachers who at Paul's Cross and in the 
 churches, gathered their eager congregations. 
 
 Gael became a social favourite. The women 
 called him " naughty " and said " fye! fye! " 
 .jvhen he was introduced, but they all loved and 
 pitied him, and wondered what the creature who 
 had brought him into this trouble looked like. 
 For Agratha kept very much in seclusion, her 
 early daily walk with Gael being her one pleasure, 
 but she found it sufficient to make every hour 
 serenely happy. And when the rain fell, and the 
 park was impossible, then Gael sat with her and
 
 Madame Van Ruyven, and told them all the gos 
 sip of Cromwell's Court. For Gael had early 
 sought and obtained Madame Van Ruyven's par 
 don, though Van Ruyven himself knew him not, 
 nor even spoke to him, or of him, and if perchance 
 they met, steadily ignored his presence. It was, 
 however, a comfort to know, that Van Ruyven 
 had nothing to do with Gael's arrest. It had 
 come solely from McAlpine's accusations to the 
 Lord Chancellor, who was " through appointed 
 representatives," plaintiff in the case. 
 
 As for Ladarine, she passed her time pleas 
 antly between the two hotels, preferring decidedly 
 the company of Lady Mclvar. " My lady knows 
 how to treat trouble," she said, " she snubs it, 
 and puts it in its place, and never sets a good 
 meal, or good sleep aside for it. There's some 
 sense in that behaviour. And she takes me to 
 the wax works, and the shows of all kinds, and I 
 like London that well, it will be a heartache to 
 leave it." 
 
 Indeed, the only trouble Ladarine found was 
 the want of a modest conveyance to take her 
 about ; for into a chair no one could persuade the 
 big Yorkshirewoman to step. She had a fit of 
 hysterical laughter at Lady Mclvar's first prop 
 osition of a chair for Laradine. 
 
 " No ! no ! My Lady ! " she cried. " I will noii 
 be carried neck and heels by any two men, not' 
 while I'm alive, and able to kick the bottom out
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 
 
 of the thing. When I'm dead, it will like enough 
 take two men to carry me, for I weigh about 
 eighteen Stone; but they'll carry nothing but 
 clay, then Ladarine won't be there." 
 
 So the spring passed into summer, and this 
 little party with a probable death sentence hang 
 ing over them were not particularly unhappy. 
 Still the announcement that the trial of Gael Mc- 
 Ivar, of Ivar Castle, Ross, for kidnapping the 
 daughter of Paul Van Ruyven of New Amster 
 dam, New Netherland, would begin on the twen 
 ty-fifth of June was not unwelcome. 
 
 " They do not anticipate a long trial," said a 
 man standing in Westminster Hall to his com 
 panion in a lawyer's wig and gown. 
 
 " How do you reason? " 
 
 " The Lord Chancellor generally leaves town 
 in July." 
 
 " There are great anticipations. Not only is 
 London agog, but people come from the counties. 
 Yes, and the inns are full of Scots, proud, pea- 
 cocky fellows, that look at us Londoners as if 
 we were the dirt beneath their feet; and I heard 
 also that a little company of border gentlemen 
 came riding into town to-day, and went in a body 
 to the Salutation Inn. What are they coming 
 for? " 
 
 " Perhaps for a rescue, if the youth is con 
 victed." 
 
 " That would be beyond hope or possibility."
 
 338 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " I heard the defence would stick to the letter 
 of the law, concerning the jury. He is to be 
 tried by his peers, as the law directs, and that 
 literally so. His peers are Highland chiefs, and 
 border gentlemen." 
 
 " Such details are not regarded now." 
 
 " Perhaps they ought to be. It is said in this 
 case, the Lord Chancellor will allow it, because 
 of the difference in opinions about the kidnap 
 ping of women." 
 
 " Can he take this liberty with the law ? " 
 
 " He is keeper of the King's I mean the Pro 
 tector's conscience. There has always been a 
 flavour of religion about his office, and he is per 
 mitted to judge cases according to his con 
 science." 
 
 "It is a great power. No wonder if it were 
 wickedly abused. I thought also that this court 
 had been abolished by the Protector." 
 
 " It has, as regards futurity ; but the cases now; 
 on its hands must rest with its jurisdiction. 
 Brudenel is a just man, but it may take him his 
 lifetime to clear them off; and before that there 
 may be strange changes in the government. The 
 Protector's health is alas ! not good." 
 
 " You think Brudenel will act justly in the Mc- 
 Ivar case? " 
 
 "I am sure of it." 
 
 " But why this rage of public sentiment about 
 a not uncommon event ? "
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 339 
 
 " The couple are young, remarkably beautiful, 
 both are very rich, and desperately in love with 
 each other. The trial will serve the town for its 
 lost theatre." 
 
 " A trial is the stupedist of events." 
 
 " But this trial may turn out a tragedy." 
 
 " If it should, the Protector will pardon." 
 
 " Perhaps. The men rave about the girl's 
 beauty, and the women are as far gone over the 
 young Lord's. And when it comes to youth and 
 beauty and mutual love, the Protector has a heart 
 all tenderness and pity. He will side with the 
 lovers." 
 
 "Will you bet on it?" 
 
 " No. There are no chances. All is deter 
 mined." 
 
 "By whom?" 
 
 " Fate ! Destiny ! whatever little god it is that 
 rules in love and marriage." 
 
 The trial served the town for a three weeks' 
 entertainment. Four days were consumed in an 
 endeavour to get the jury literally of Gael's 
 peers. It was an ineffectual struggle, though it 
 served admirably to enlighten the admitted jury, 
 as to the circustances which accounted for Gael 
 breaking the English law, and allowed him to 
 plead truthfully " Not Guilty." 
 
 Every fact already detailed in this story was 
 thoroughly sifted. Paul Van Ruyven, rather re 
 luctantly, was forced to admit his retention of
 
 340 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 gifts and letters, and his scornful insulting reply 
 to Gael's honourable offer of marriage, and by 
 the time this had been made clear, the crowds in 
 side and outside the great hall, were enthusi 
 astically in favour of the prisoner. 
 
 The question came finally to the consideration 
 of the motive for the kidnapping, for the Court 
 assumed that the prisoner knew of its ward's 
 great wealth, and wished to secure it. Agratha 
 was called in rebuttal of this opinion, and when 
 she rose there was a demonstration of delight and 
 sympathy nothing could suppress. Her mother 
 had clothed her in a simple white linen frock, and 
 without ornaments of any kind. She was white 
 shod, and white gloved, and wore across her head 
 a small flat hood of white lace and satin. 
 
 As soon as the Court began to examine her, 
 she drew off this hood and stood clear-faced be 
 fore everyone There was no design in this move 
 ment, but it acted like magic the whole audi 
 ence gave their hearts to her, but she looked only 
 at Gael, whose face was shining with love, and 
 who was unable to hide his pride and glory in 
 her beauty and affection. A little later, she 
 lifted her eyes to the bench, and saw sitting there 
 the man who had questioned her so closely, while 
 he ate his mutton chop, and sipped his ale. Then 
 all fear left her, and when asked how long she 
 had known of her wealth, she answered posi 
 tively :
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 341 
 
 " Only since I read the Hue and Cry last 
 spring." 
 
 Just as positively she averred Gael's ignorance, 
 and the prosecution was failing in its last and 
 strongest point. But Paul Van Ruyven's word 
 was yet to be taken, and as his animosity to the 
 prisoner was well known, there was fear in every 
 heart that he would in some way negative this 
 important point. 
 
 All remarked that he rose reluctantly, and 
 when asked under oath if he believed Lord Mc- 
 Ivar was aware of his daughter's great wealth, 
 he remained silent so long, that the question was 
 repeated, and Agratha bent towards him with a 
 face full of anxiety. He felt compelled to an 
 swer this appeal, and with strong emotion said 
 slowly : 
 
 " Lord Mclvar knew nothing of my daugh 
 ter's wealth." 
 
 "How can you be sure of that?" was next 
 asked. 
 
 " Nobody knew only I, myself." 
 
 " Your wife, perhaps ? " 
 
 " No. She knew nothing." 
 
 " Governor Stuyvesant." 
 
 " No. He had her American land in 
 charge. He knew nothing of any other prop 
 erty." 
 
 " Then Lord Mclvar did not run away with 
 your daughter for her money? "
 
 342 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 " He knew nothing about her money. I have 
 said so. It is the truth." 
 
 " Then he took her only because he loved 
 her? " 
 
 " Christus! Sacrament! Yes! And he had 
 no right to love her ! Oh God! " 
 
 " You may sit down, Mr. Van Ruyven." 
 
 A moment's intense silence, broken by great 
 sighs, and little restless movements followed, and 
 the Court was dismissed in an unusual mood of 
 sympathy for the father. But the next day, the 
 jury, after a retirement of about ten minutes, 
 unanimously found Gael Mclvar " not guilty as 
 charged " and he was set free to a tremendous 
 ovation of popular delight and approval. 
 
 It is difficult to say how, or why, a great' 
 change of mind or feeling takes place, but it was 
 evident in a few weeks that Paul Van Ruyven 
 had considerably modified his dislike of Gael. 
 But Paul was extremely sensitive to public ap 
 proval, and very proud of the notice of great 
 men, and Gael was wonderfully popular. All 
 he said and did was admired, and wherever he 
 went he was loved. Perhaps then, Paul had 
 come to see, that it was hardly likely he was 
 right, and everyone else wrong in their estimate 
 of the young man; and perhaps also, the sweet 
 ness and nobility of Gael's temperament had com 
 pelled something like its own kindness and ob 
 livion of wrongs.
 
 GAEL'S TRIAL 343 
 
 At any rate when September was over, and 
 Lady Mclvar began to talk of returning to Ivar 
 Castle, the Chancellor had a conversation with 
 Paul about a marriage between Gael and 
 Agratha. " The sooner it occurs and the bet 
 ter," he said. " It will not do for Gael to go 
 back to Ivar without his wife. The town will 
 talk. We do not want that." 
 
 " No, no ; there has been too muck talk al 
 ready." 
 
 " The river of their life is at a wonderfully 
 happy brim now, why make them wait till it 
 ebbs?" 
 
 " Her money, my Lord " 
 
 " Will remain with the Court until the proper 
 time. They have enough to keep honeymoon on. 
 Come, Van Ruyven, let us love them wisely, and 
 make them happy." 
 
 The result of this conversation was their 
 splendidly solemnised marriage in St. Paul's one 
 month afterwards. And never had that grand 
 altar seen a fairer couple clasp hands before it. 
 The Lord Chancellor gave away the bride, Harry 
 Cromwell walked beside the bridegroom, and the 
 great, the noble, and the fair filled the stalls, and 
 the spacious nave. All the world, young and old, 
 rich and poor loves a lover, and this handsome 
 youth so picturesquely dressed, so romantically 
 possessed by his passion, so true to his love, so 
 proud of her beauty, so heavenly happy in the
 
 344 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 consummation of his long delayed marriage, was 
 felt by all to be well worthy of the exquisite little 
 lady, who that day came to him with the bless 
 ings of heaven and earth in her hands.
 
 THE FALL, OF NEW AMSTERDAM 
 
 WE spend our years like a tale that is told, but 
 the tale is not lost, it is in our hearts, and we 
 live it over and over in a faithful memory. 
 This is what Agratha, Lady Mclvar, was doing 
 one morning in early May A. D. 1664. She stood 
 at a window of her splendid mansion in Hyde 
 Park, London, looking intently outward and 
 westward, but seeing nothing of all that was be 
 fore her. A letter was in her hand, a poor look 
 ing letter, wanting all the insignia of her own 
 rank and riches ; its paper was thin, untinted and 
 unperfumed; its edges were not gilded, its seal 
 was not white or pale violet, but vulgarly red and 
 destitute of armorial honours. The interior was 
 equally meagre. The writing did not cover even 
 one page, it was not very legible, for the ink had 
 been watered, and the script itself was uncertain, 
 and evidently the work of unpractised and trem 
 bling fingers. 
 
 But it was from her mother. She dropped her 
 eyes upon it tenderly, and then kissed it. " I 
 must go to my moeder," she whispered to her 
 heart, and it answered her promptly, " without 
 delay." 
 
 Agratha had now been nearly seven years 
 345
 
 846 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 married, her beauty had developed and perfected, 
 and her manner and carriage taken on a distinc 
 tion very different to its old simple grace and 
 frankness. But every year had been full of 
 vivid experiences, and had added some fresh love 
 liness, or some new attraction. Nearly two 
 years after her marriage was spent in a leisurely, 
 luxurious travel among the great capitals of 
 Europe, in all of which she led a life of constant 
 change and pleasure. 
 
 On her return from this delightful honeymoon 
 she received her fortune. It had been a great 
 fortune when first confided to the Court of Chan 
 cery, and in spite of wars and revolutions it had 
 increased in value. Her Dutch property, under 
 the control of Paul Van Ruyven, could proudly 
 show a record of usage and investments which 
 had nearly doubled its worth. Without any 
 consideration of her acres on Long Island, and 
 on the shores of the Hudson River, she was actu 
 ally at the time the richest woman in England. 
 
 Good fortune in other respects walked beside 
 the Mclvars, for one day as they were driving 
 on the outskirts of the Hague they approached a 
 party which Gael instantly recognised. It was 
 King Charles attended by a few not very well 
 dressed gentlemen, and in an instant the love of 
 the Highlander for the Stuarts flamed in his 
 heart. At the same time he left his carriage, and 
 with bared head and bent knee saluted the exiled
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 347 
 
 monarch. Charles was charmed. Beauty always 
 appealed to him, and Gael's beauty was splendidly 
 evident in a garb so distinctively allied with Scot 
 land and the Stuart family. It went straight to 
 whatever heart Charles had. Tears sprang to 
 his eyes, he gave Gael his hand, and after a few 
 minutes' conversation desired to speak with Lady 
 Mclvar. Agratha's loveliness completed Charles's 
 delight, and during their stay at the Hague he 
 frequently sought their company. However, the 
 crowning point of satisfaction in this friendship 
 came from a more personal reason. 
 
 One morning it happened that Gael found 
 Charles very depressed and anxious, and as he 
 was never backward in complaining of whatever 
 hurt him, he confessed that he was almost at the 
 point of beggary. " My brother of France," 
 he said with a scornful laugh, " has forgotten 
 me." 
 
 " Permit me, sire," said Gael, " to assume 
 France's duty to you." 
 
 " The King of France promised me one thou 
 sand silver ducats.* He has forgotten his 
 promise. Put not your trust in princes," and 
 Charles laughed again. 
 
 " I will redeem his promise with one thousand 
 gold guineas, if your Majesty will graciously per- 
 met me this honour." 
 
 " Your offer, my Lord, is a miraculous god- 
 
 *A silver ducat is worth fifty cents.
 
 348 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 send. You have five-folded a King's gift. I 
 may never be able to pay you, Mclvar." 
 
 " Your Majesty's acceptance is repayment. 
 My heart and my sword and my purse are yours." 
 
 "I will not forget your generosity, Mclvar." 
 
 And when Charles was brought back with 
 tumultuous rejoicing to his throne, three years 
 later, he did not forget. Honours and emolu 
 ments of many kinds flowed from the King's good 
 will to the Mclvar's and the most extravagant 
 dreams of Agratha's girlhood came as extrav 
 agantly true. This morning, however, a sorrow 
 ful word from the Far West had found her out 
 in all her prosperity. Her father was dying. 
 She had never thought of such a calamity. To 
 her childish eyes he had appeared immortal, and 
 about her home and all pertaining to it, her 
 childish opinions had changed very little. 
 
 After a short reflection she said to herself: 
 " I must go and tell Gael," and with the slow com 
 posure of a goddess she walked down the long 
 room, her flowing garments of white lawn and 
 lace, making a kind of glory around her. Gael 
 was not far off, she found him in the library, and 
 the young Chief, Lord Ian Mclvar, was at his 
 side, listening to some instructions his father was 
 giving him, about the removing, or the keeping 
 on, of his Glengary cap: 
 
 " Always, if you should meet the King, or be 
 in The Presence, you must uncover your head,
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 349 
 
 Ian. To your mother, and to all other women 
 give the same honour, and to the aged, whether 
 they be rich or poor, remove your cap. But 
 among boys, and the commonality of men, keep 
 on your cap. It carries the crest of the Mc- 
 Ivars, and never lower it when not necessary." 
 The beautiful lad, though only six years old, 
 bowed and answered: 
 
 " I will do everything you tell me to do, father, 
 and to you I will always bare my head, for you 
 are both my father and my chief." 
 
 Then Gael dismissed the child, whom he loved 
 with an almost idolatrous affection, and turning 
 to his wife said : " My dear one, have you some 
 thing for me to attend to in the city ? " 
 
 " Read this letter, Gael, and tell me how I 
 ought to answer it." 
 
 After doing so, Gael said in a reluctant tone: 
 " I suppose you must answer it in person." 
 
 " I think with you. We must go to New 
 Amsterdam, but what must be done with the chil 
 dren?" 
 
 "Take them also. I cannot part with Ian." 
 
 " I do not think the long voyage will be good 
 for them. Ian will be far better at Castle Ivar, 
 among the heather and with the hunters and shep 
 herds. His grandmother will take good care of 
 him, she loves him dearly." 
 
 After some discussion, which did not bring any 
 conclusion, Gael said, " Let us send for Ladarine,
 
 S50 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 she always knows the best way. Did you notice 
 that mother's letter said Lady Moody was dead ? " 
 
 " Poor Lady Moody ! Call Ladarine, it will 
 be odd if she does not strike the proper note at 
 once." 
 
 In ten minutes Ladarine appeared. There was 
 no change in her appearance, unless it were that 
 she looked younger, healthier and far happier; 
 and that she had also learned her manners. For 
 she curtsied as she entered the room, and then 
 asked : 
 
 " What does my lady want? I am just going 
 to bathe the babies, and the water is getting cold, 
 and they might have more clothes on, and " 
 
 " Ladarine, Lord Mclvar and myself are go 
 ing to New Amsterdam immediately. What do 
 you say about taking the children with us ? " 
 
 " Well, my lady, if you want to kill the poor 
 little things, I think you could maybe find an 
 easier way. You must know, that the New 
 Amsterdam babies have a hard time every sum 
 mer, until they are three years or more old, and 
 as for those not born there, it is precious little 
 of a chance they get." 
 
 " Would you like to go back to New Amster 
 dam? We could take Lord Ian and you, and leave 
 the babies with their grandmother at Castle 
 Ivar." 
 
 " I will never give my sanction to any such 
 foolishness. Lord Ian will be far safer with his
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 351 
 
 sisters and myself at Castle Ivar. It is only 
 Ladarine that can manage him in his tempers." 
 
 " Then you do not wish to go back to 
 America? " 
 
 " No, I do not. My work is here with my 
 children, and there's none can fill my place. And 
 I'm not seeking what the fools call Liberty. If 
 I was, I would try the question with the Dey of 
 Algiers, or the Grand Turk, or the Czar of Mus 
 covy." 
 
 " But every soul desires Liberty, Ladarine," 
 said Lord Mclvar. 
 
 " Well, then, I am suited in having it so scarce. 
 If every soul had Liberty, the world would be a 
 monstrous Bedlam ; that is my opinion, if it please 
 you, my Lord." 
 
 " I am sorry to tell you, Ladarine," said Lord 
 Mclvar, " that Lady Moody is dead." 
 
 "Poor soul! She was just martyred for that 
 dream you call Liberty. I always told her there 
 wasn't such an article nowhere in this world and 
 a right good thing too, that there isn't." 
 
 " Ladarine, what are you saying ! You that 
 have been to the Free Colonies of America." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, my Lord, but nobody I 
 ever saw, or ever heard tell of, found any kind 
 of Liberty that suited them. Lady Moody tried 
 Massachusetts, and there the preachers had all 
 there was of it, and everybody else had none ; and 
 in New Amsterdam, the Company and the Gover-
 
 352 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 nor had it, and the rest of the people were always 
 in a fight with them for their share. Liberty, 
 indeed! My poor Lady Moody left all she ever 
 had behind her in England. But I can't stay to 
 talk about far-offs now, for Lady Ragel and Lady 
 Agratha are waiting for me, and what I say first 
 and last is leave the children with me at Castle 
 Ivar, they'll have everything there that children 
 want." 
 
 " No, Lada, children always want their father's 
 and mother's care." 
 
 " Excuse me, my lady, the want is often a good 
 thing. I have seen plenty of fathers and mothers 
 that were most improper persons to bring up 
 their own children ; too fond of * them, and the 
 consequences bad health, bad manners, disobedi 
 ence, and worse still " 
 
 " Ladarine, I think I have told you before not 
 to call Ragel and Agratha ' Lady ' Ragel and 
 * Lady ' Agratha." 
 
 " My Lord, as far as I can see, the girls are as 
 much ' lady ' as the boy is lord. I don't believe 
 in down-treading girls because they are girls ; and 
 if you will now excuse me, both Lady Ragel and 
 Lady Agratha are waiting for their bath, and 
 cross at the waiting, no doubt, as they have every 
 right to be," and with these words, and a little 
 flourish of her white apron, Ladarine disap 
 peared. 
 
 The result of this conversation is evident. The
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 353 
 
 three children went to Castle Ivar under Lada- 
 rine's care on The Nautilus, and Gael was left 
 free to look for a suitable ship in which to cross 
 the Atlantic. On the second day of his search, 
 he met the Duke of York on Pall Mall, and after 
 a few words of conversation, they went together 
 to Buckingham Palace for a private lunch. 
 Duke James then made Gael familiar with his 
 plan for the taking possession of New Nether- 
 land, the territory which his brother, the King, 
 had given him, and because of Lady Mclvar's 
 familiarity with New Amsterdam and its principal 
 inhabitants, he received some sort of commission 
 relating to their treatment and pacification. Be 
 fore lunch was over, Colonel Nicolls entered and 
 he was introduced to the leader of the expedition. 
 
 " I was charmed with Colonel Nicolls," he told 
 Agratha on his return home, " to see him, is to 
 love him." 
 
 " Tell me, then, Gael, is he handsome ? " 
 
 " He is about forty years of age, above the 
 medium height, and has a fine stately presence. 
 His face is fair and frank, he has wonderful grey 
 eyes, rather deeply set, and brown hair slightly 
 curled at the ends. His father was a lawyer of 
 the Middle Temple, his mother the daughter of 
 Sir George Bruce. He has been splendidly edu 
 cated, and accustomed to all the refinements of 
 the highest European circles." 
 
 "For the Stuarts, of course?"
 
 354 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 "He has shared all the fortunes of the royal 
 family, and spent many years in exile in Hol 
 land. But there he learned the Dutch language 
 and became familiar with Dutch literature. In 
 deed, 'tis said, he speaks both Dutch and French 
 as perfectly as English." 
 
 " There, then, that is enough of Colonel 
 Nicolls. I like not the man who goes to conquer 
 my native city." 
 
 " On my honour, he will do no harm to your 
 city." 
 
 " Have you found a suitable ship ? " 
 
 " The Duke has given us the best accommoda 
 tion on the Agamemnon. She sails in six days. 
 Can you be ready ? " 
 
 " Easily. The Nautilus " 
 
 " Will be ready for sea on Saturday." 
 
 " In three days ! Oh, Gael ! " 
 
 " It is best so. Hurry Ladarine a little." 
 
 " On Saturday? " 
 
 " Positively, on Saturday the eleventh. We 
 must be ready for Wednesday the fifteenth, with 
 out fail." 
 
 These arrangements were all comfortably 
 carried out, and the voyage of the battleship 
 Agamemnon across the Atlantic was generally 
 fair, and unusually quick, so that she landed the 
 Mclvars at Gravesend on the seventh of July, 
 and then sailed for the Connecticut coast. 
 
 Slowly and silently they took the familiar
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 355 
 
 sandy walk to Lady Moody's home. It was no 
 longer a home. The doors were locked, the win 
 dows boarded up, and in the once pretty garden 
 vines and weeds had taken possession. As they 
 stood looking at the forlorn, deserted place, 
 James Hubbard came to them. 
 
 " She is gone," he said, " what can I do? " 
 
 *' We want to reach New Amsterdam as quickly 
 as possible, Mr. Hubbard," said Lord Mclvar. 
 
 " I bought her ladyship's boat, and I can get 
 you there by the middle of the afternoon." 
 
 " That will do. Thank you." 
 
 So they turned back, and in half-an-hour were 
 sailing in the old boat over the same watery way; 
 but oh how different all things seemed! Lord 
 Mclvar talked to Hubbard about the English 
 settlements on Long Island, but Agratha sat 
 nearly silent, until they reached the little jetty 
 at the foot of her father's garden. Then Lord 
 Mclvar went at once to the City Hotel, but 
 Agratha slowly climbed the steps, and took the 
 well-known flagged path to the Van Ruyven 
 house. She noticed a slight neglect in the 
 garden, there were fewer flowers, the growing vines 
 were untrained, the very flags had worn a little 
 away, and become looser. 
 
 But the homelike living room was just the same 
 The spring clearing was yet evident in the snow- 
 white draperies, and the polished sideboard, with 
 its shining pieces of silver and crystal ; and in the
 
 356 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 spotlessness of the whole apartment. Madame 
 was sitting by her wheel but she was not spinning. 
 She looked tired and anxious, but much of her old 
 .activity and comeliness remained, and it needed but 
 a season of happiness to renew her strength and 
 beauty. But in Paul Van Ruyven the change 
 was manifest. He was sitting in his big chair 
 by the open window, but he was only a shadow of 
 his old robust, vigorous manhood. Some secret 
 malady, not then understood, was hourly wasting 
 his life. Any moment he might go away forever,. 
 
 These things Agratha noticed as she lifted the 
 well known latch, entered the room, and then 
 sank sobbing at her father's side. 
 
 It was a wonderful and joyful surprise, and 
 that night Agratha spent with her parents, sleep 
 ing in her old white room, and noticing that not 
 even the ribbons she had left pinned to the cushion 
 had been removed. They were faded, but they 
 were just as she left them. In a very short time 
 things settled to a quiet simple routine. Agratha 
 remained in her father's house, eating its homely 
 fare with enjoyment, forgetting all the cere 
 monies of her late life, and falling back as far as 
 possible into the ways of her girlhood. 
 
 Gael's first business was to look after Agratha's 
 property, for in the changes certain to occur, no 
 one could tell what the outcome might be. But 
 Agratha's affairs were found to be in the most 
 perfect order, and it took but a few days to
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 357 
 
 justify and admire the prudence with which they 
 had been managed. Then Agratha went to see 
 the Governor, and to sign the paper which re 
 leased him from his long charge, and he kissed her 
 affectionately and bid her notice that his service 
 had been one of love, and that he had not taken 
 a single doit for it. 
 
 During their compelled intercourse, Stuy- 
 vesant treated Gael with the most frigid tolera 
 tion. He noticed none of the friendly advances 
 made, and when the business was completed, and 
 Gael thanked him for the excellent manner in, 
 which his wife's interests had been cared for, he 
 refused to see Gael's offered hand, and answered: 
 
 " Lord Mclvar, you may thank a rogue for be 
 ing honest and honourable. Peter Stuyvesant 
 asks neither money nor thanks because he has 
 done his duty, and kept his word." Then he 
 turned haughtily away. And Gael felt deeply 
 wounded, but Van Ruyven smiled faintly, and he 
 said to his wife when telling her of the circum 
 stances : " If Gael had come here a few weeks 
 earlier, Stuyvesant would have given him all he 
 promised me the deepest dungeon and the high 
 est gallows in New Netherland. But now! " 
 
 "Well, then?" 
 
 ** Gael is with the expedition, and as soon as 
 the settlement was over, he left post haste to join 
 Colonel Nicolls in Boston. Besides, he would 
 have been protected by, the English population.
 
 358 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 and they are six to one. Stuyvesant durst not 
 now come to conflict with it. That is the plain 
 truth, Ragel." 
 
 "What did you think of the Governor, 
 Agratha? " asked Madame Van Ruyven. 
 
 " The Governor is much changed, moeder," an 
 swered Agratha ; " and Madame Stuyvesant was 
 too anxious and busy to talk, and I did not see 
 Madame Bayard at all." 
 
 " The Governor is nearly distracted by the 
 condition of the country, and Madame, I hear, is 
 moving all her household goods to the Bowery 
 house. As for Anna Bayard she was married to 
 Nicholas Varlett five years ago." 
 
 At this moment Madame Rose Roedeke en 
 tered, and the three ladies soon fell into a con 
 versation about her brother and his wife. "I 
 have not seen Lady McAlpine since her mar 
 riage," said Agratha. " Lord McAlpine broke 
 his parole twice, and soon after disappeared. 
 That was while I was on my honeymoon travel, 
 and the next time Lord Mclvar and I went to 
 Castle Ivar, the McAlpine estate had been sold 
 for a trifle, and I was told Lady McAlpine had 
 returned to her mother." 
 
 " Her mother would not receive her. She has 
 now only two small rooms, but she has peace, and 
 she wants but little money. Lady McAlpine 
 leads a noisy, gay life. I hear she returns to 
 Paris soon."
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 359 
 
 " I wonder what became of her husband ! " said 
 Madame Van Ruyven. 
 
 " No one knows," answered Agratha. " He 
 left no sign behind him. Some think he fell into 
 the deep, treacherous moss water ; others that he 
 got lost on the mountains. Nothing is cer 
 tain." 
 
 " I hear Madame Stuyvesant is really moving 
 to their country house," said Madame Van Ruy 
 ven. 
 
 " What else remains ? " asked Rose Roedeke. 
 " When the English come the Fort and the Gov 
 ernor's house must be surrendered or they will 
 be cannonaded." 
 
 " Will there be no fight made? " cried Agratha. 
 " Oh, I cannot believe that. I think surely that 
 Peter Stuyvesant will fight, if he dies fighting. 
 Yes, indeed he will." 
 
 " But, Lady Mclvar," asked Rose, " how can 
 Stuyvesant fight without soldiers and without 
 arms. My husband tells me that there are only 
 six hundred pounds of powder in the Fort, and 
 only four hundred men in the city able to bear 
 arms, and the distracted Governor durst not arm 
 them if he could. All of them are in favour of 
 the English government." 
 
 " Oh, no ! Madame Roedeke," cried Agratha. 
 " The Dutch will not desert their flag and their 
 country." 
 
 " They do not consider it so. They are only 
 \
 
 360 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 deserting the flag and the country of a greedy, 
 tyrannical Trading Company, that has robbed 
 and neglected them, ever since it had the power 
 to do so." 
 
 " But Stuyvesant is its Governor, and he is 
 loyal to it. He will fight. Something will hap 
 pen." 
 
 " The inevitable will happen. Stuyvesant is 
 brave as brave can be, he is also true as steel, 
 but he cannot work miracles." 
 
 " The people seem so indifferent," said 
 Agratha. 
 
 " No," replied Rose, " they are not indifferent. 
 A great many of the lower class derive great satis 
 faction from the fact that the captain of the 
 English force is called Nicolls " and Rose 
 laughed a little. 
 
 "But why, then?" asked Madame Van Ruy- 
 ven. 
 
 " Because it is the same name as their good 
 Saint Nicholas. They may be right, there is a 
 great deal in a name." 
 
 Soon after Madame Roedeke left, Paul Van 
 Ruyven awoke from his afternoon sleep, and came 
 into the room where his wife and daughter were 
 still talking of the English invasion. Ragel Van 
 Ruyven was truly a little indifferent; her hus 
 band's condition troubled her far more than the 
 English. " They are civil enough, if you let them 
 have their own way," she said calmly, " and it is
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 361 
 
 mostly a very successful way, as far as business 
 and daily comfort is concerned." 
 
 " I never liked the English," said Van Ruyven, 
 "but it will be hard for them to treat us worse 
 than the West India Company have done. I am 
 weary to death of this suspense." 
 
 " But it will soon be over now, fader. Gael 
 says so." 
 
 "He knows?" 
 
 " Yes, he knows." 
 
 " Since ever I remember, my Dear One, we 
 have been frightened by an English invasion, but 
 about a year ago the best informed citizens felt 
 that it was fast approaching. Hartford, Con 
 necticut, New England, and most of the settle 
 ments on Long Island, then stood plainly and 
 boldly for King Charles; and when Stuyvesant 
 spoke of the charter of the West India Company 
 and its right to the territory of New Netherland, 
 he was told that ' its charter was only a charter 
 of commerce, and as to New Netherland, they 
 knew of no such place.' ' 
 
 " That was not right, fader." 
 
 " So! but in this case might rules right. In 
 April Stuyvesant called a Landtdag or Diet of 
 the twelve Dutch colonies. He tried to induce 
 the members to pay a tax, or enrol every sixth 
 man in New Netherland in the militia. They 
 would do neither. They would do nothing but 
 appeal to the Company. We had been doing
 
 362 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 that for years. However, as we sat disputing, 
 we received notice that soldiers from Holland 
 were on their way, and Stuyvesant was instructed 
 to exterminate the Eusopus Indians, and severely, 
 punish the arrogant English." 
 
 "Well, then, fader?" 
 
 " Cornelis Beekman rose and said that it was 
 impossible to punish the English. They were six 
 to one, that Connecticut would instantly come to 
 their help, and New England was already wait 
 ing to do so. At the very time of your blessed 
 arrival here, Stuyvesant was at Gravesend inter 
 viewing Winthrop of Connecticut, who was cold 
 and reserved, but insisted that the English title 
 was indisputable. Ever since, the city has been, 
 as you know, in a ferment; men and women are 
 all on the watch, and are all so weary of watch- 
 ing." 
 
 " But, fader, the watch is nearly over." 
 
 " Yes, for the English squadron has left Bos 
 ton for New Amsterdam. In my judgment, the 
 end is not far off." 
 
 By the end of August, the English ships were 
 anchored in New Utrecht Bay. Here they were 
 joined by Winthrop and the Connecticut magis 
 trates, and by Willet of the New Plymouth 
 Colony. Scott was on hand with men from New 
 Haven, and Captain Younge with troops from 
 Southold and the other towns at the eastern end 
 of Long Island. Clarke and Pyncheon came from
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 363 
 
 Boston with a report of the military arrange 
 ments there, but as an overpowering force had 
 been collected, the Massachusetts troops were 
 found unnecessary. All the approaches to New 
 Amsterdam were blockaded, and the farmers of 
 Long Island were forbidden to furnish supplies 
 to the city. 
 
 Stuyvesant stood alone in hopeless courage, 
 fighting the circumstance with the pathetic pa 
 tience of a forlorn hope, deserted by every friend 
 and ally; the only man in New Amsterdam who 
 did not favour the peaceable surrender of the city 
 to the English. 
 
 It is not here that the story of the last month 
 of New Amsterdam's existence can be told. It 
 was a month of fearful looking forward to evil 
 of all kinds; for everyone knew what would hap 
 pen if the city was not surrendered at the demand 
 of the invaders. But against this solid back 
 ground of opposition, Stuyvesant went on grind 
 ing corn day and night, and storing it in the 
 Fort; and gathering in all the arms and ammuni 
 tion he could from the outlying Dutch settle 
 ments. 
 
 However, when Colonel Nicolls with his four 
 battleships arrived at Gravesend, landed his men 
 and marched them to Brooklyn Ferry where the 
 troops from Long Island and New England were 
 waiting, the men of New Amsterdam knew that 
 further delay meant ruin. Yet Nicolls waited
 
 364 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 two days spent in useless parleying, then, weary 
 of delaying, he moved with two of his ships to 
 Governor's Island, and the other two with full 
 sails set, and guns ready to open broadsides, 
 sailed past the Port and anchored in the East 
 River. New Amsterdam was then encircled round 
 about, without means of hope or deliverance. It 
 was a matter of pure desperation, rather than 
 soldiership, to hold the Fort, against which there 
 were then pointed sixty-two guns. 
 
 There was no time now for words, and about 
 one hundred of the principal citizens came with 
 desperate resolve to Stuyvesant. They were 
 angry men, full of threats, and determined at all 
 risks to prevent the firing of a gun from the 
 Fort. They found Stuyvesant standing by a bas 
 tion looking eastward for the promised troops; 
 his wonderful eyes so full of sorrow and disap 
 pointment, they could hardly bear to meet them. 
 He did not speak, he was dumb with grief, and 
 the pallor of his face was the pallor of sleepless 
 nights, and a heart sick, not only with deferred 
 hope, but with hope utterly lost. 
 
 They waited for his usual authoritative ques 
 tioning, but he did not move or speak, and Van 
 Brugh said : 
 
 " Governor, we are come to tell you that there 
 is not a moment to be lost. You must run 
 up the white flag immediately. TVe demand 
 it."
 
 "Power of God! Who are * w<? '.? " he cried 
 with sudden inconceivable passion. 
 
 " Let us tell you, ' we ' represent the whole city, 
 men, women and children. We will not suffer you 
 to fire on the English fleet. We will not suffer it ! 
 Raise the white flag ! " 
 
 Then out stepped a young Zealander, and with 
 streaming eyes an$ pathetic eloquence reminded 
 Stuyvesant of the scenes that would be certain to 
 occur if New Amsterdam was taken by force of 
 arms. 
 
 " .Governor," he pleaded, " we are men, and may 
 fight for our lives, but will you give our women 
 and children to massacre and outrage? Will 
 you burn their homes above them, and lay our 
 city in ruins. Governor, can you do .these 
 things?" 
 
 " By the Son of God ! No ! I would rather be 
 carried out of here, dead ! " The words came hot 
 from his heart, he could no more have prevented 
 them, than he could have prevented his breathing. 
 
 " Then raise the white flag ! " 
 
 With unspeakable emotion he walked slowly to 
 the main mast, and turning to the waiting citizens 
 said: 
 
 " I will raise the white flag. Holland's free 
 flag shall fall. Your city is not worthy of it, and 
 you are unworthy to stand under it." 
 
 Here speech failed him. He raised his hand, 
 and then let it drop heavily to his side, and the
 
 366 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 flaa: of surrender floated over the Fort of New; 
 
 B 
 
 Amsterdam. 
 
 It was consonant with Stuyvesant's great char 
 acter that he should accept the inevitable with 
 manly cheerfulness. He invited Colonel Nicolls 
 to his beautiful Bowery home, and there the gen 
 erous terms of the capitulation were formed. 
 This was on Saturday, and on Monday, Septem 
 ber the eighth A. D. 1664, at eight o'clock in the 
 morning, Nicolls delivered the ratified articles to 
 Stuyvesant. This ceremony occurred at the " old 
 mill " on the shore of the East River, close by the 
 little pier at the foot of Van Ruyven's garden. 
 An hour afterwards New Amsterdam had become 
 New York. 
 
 And if the terms of capitulation were magnan 
 imous, Colonel Nicolls, by his fine social manner 
 won a still greater victory over the hearts of the 
 inhabitants. His handsome, cheerful face, his 
 friendly address, his ability to speak to the Dutch 
 and French and English each in their own lan 
 guage, his royal hospitality completed, at least 
 to all appearance, the desired reconciliation. In 
 deed, it was the rich and influential Dutchman 
 Van Brugh who initiated a very gay winter by^ 
 giving the first dinner party in honour of the 
 English general. 
 
 Lord Mclvar, who had been the friend and 
 companion of Colonel Nicolls ever since they met 
 in Boston, now accompanied him in all his social
 
 .THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 367 
 
 successes; and thus once more was honoured and 
 feasted in the city that had been so prominent in 
 his life and fortune, while Agratha also received 
 attentions enough to nullify a thousand-fold the 
 slights and suspicions of her girlhood. A month 
 of this gaiety was followed by a sudden hush in 
 the Van Ruyven house. One lovely night during 
 the Indian summer, Van Ruyven sat talking long 
 and late with his wife and daughter. He took 
 particular pleasure in reviewing the years when 
 Agratha was a little child, and in slowly following 
 her whole career. 
 
 " Everything was right though we did not know 
 it at the time," he said ; " that is God's way ! 
 Where we cannot see Him, there we must trust 
 Him. That is so, Ragel. I am now tired. I will 
 go to sleep." 
 
 They watched him a short time, and as they 
 watched became aware that the silver cord that 
 moored him to Time was rapidly slackening. He 
 was drifting swiftly and silently away 
 
 "Into the eternal shadow, 
 
 That girds our Life around; 
 Into the infinite silence, 
 
 Wherewith Death's shore is bound." 
 
 Soon after this event the Mclvars and Madame 
 Van Ruyven returned to England, and the future 
 of the Mclvars was intimately blent with the
 
 368 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 diplomacies and social events of the Courts, not 
 only of Charles, but also of James, William and 
 Mary, and the splendid military and literary 
 reign of Queen Anne. During the 'first twenty- 
 five years of this period they were eminently happy 
 and successful. The young Chief Ian fulfilled all 
 his parents' extravagant hopes, and the ladies 
 Ragel, Agratha and Ladarine, married well and 
 suitably : 
 
 " For Destiny that saw them so divine, 
 Spun all their fortunes in a silken twine." 
 
 It had been one of Stuyvesant's latest acts of 
 authority to inaugurate a foreign mail service, 
 and through this channel they heard occasionally 
 how events were marching in New York from Rose 
 Roedeke. But one morning she most unexpect 
 edly visited them at Castle Ivar. She was richly 
 dressed in the lugubrious widow's garments of that 
 day, but was still pretty and graceful, and she 
 looked with wonder on the lovely Agratha, then in 
 her thirty-sixth year, and the very zenith of her 
 beauty. 
 
 For a month she remained at Ivar, and during 
 that time talked much of Stuyvesant, and the 
 people with whom Agratha had been familiar ; but 
 every conversation, no matter how it began, ended 
 with Peter Stuyvesant. 
 
 " I suppose," said Gael one day, " that the old
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 369 
 
 Governor retired from all publis affairs. Some 
 one told me he became a farmer, and grew quiet 
 and reserved." 
 
 Rose laughed heartily. " Who could have told 
 you such a story?" she asked. "Truly, he had 
 the finest farm in the country, but if you suppose 
 he ever became quiet and reserved, you never can 
 have known the man. Until the day of his death 
 he managed the Domine and the Kirk, and directed 
 all the city improvements. He became very social 
 and companionable; for Colonel Nicolls he had a 
 true friendship, and to the citizens generally he 
 was an ever ready adviser and helper. They had 
 always been proud of him, but in his private life 
 they learned to love and to trust him." 
 
 ** Was he long sick? " asked Gael. 
 
 " If he was, he made no complaint. Yet he 
 must have known that the end was approaching, 
 for his affairs were all in the most exact order, 
 and he died as sweetly as a little child who is tired 
 with play lies down and goes to sleep. Madame 
 Stuyvesant told me he sat at the open window to 
 the last moment. He held her hand, but he kept 
 his eyes upon the heavens which were that sum 
 mer night wonderfully full of stars, and just as 
 Orion sank down in the west, he died." 
 
 " Peace be with him ! " said Gael. " He was a 
 great man, compelled to fight life in an arena far 
 too small for him. He had not elbow room to 
 compass his soul's intentions and desires. If he
 
 370 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 had been Grand Pensioner of Holland, instead of 
 Governor of New Netherland, he would have been 
 a much greater man." 
 
 In a month Rose went away and they saw her 
 no more. She had come to McAlpine hoping to 
 be able to buy back the old home, but for many 
 reasons she found it impossible; so she bought a 
 pretty place on the outskirts of Edinburgh. In 
 this city she had many cousins of three and four 
 descents and her kind heart found kindred enough 
 to love and to help. 
 
 At the close of the seventeenth century Gael 
 and Agratha retired to Castle Ivar, and spent 
 among their children, grandchildren, and Clan 
 Ivar the last ten years of their lives. Gael was 
 then seventy years old, and Agratha only three 
 years younger. They had had full lives, and their 
 hearts were satisfied with the past, and hopeful 
 for the future. At this time the two mothers, as 
 well as Ladarine had, in the dialect of Lancashire, 
 " passed out of it." Madame Van Ruyven and 
 Lady Mclvar were sleeping side by side in the 
 lonely Mclvar cemetery, but Ladarine had utterly 
 refused this last hospitality. 
 
 "I must go back to Outerby, Yorkshire, my 
 Lord," she said to Gael. "I must be buried 
 there, because the Gilpins must all rise together 
 at the Judgment Day. We are a big family, and 
 we can stand by one another whatever happens. 
 I'm not afraid, for I've been a pious woman all
 
 THE FALL OF NEW AMSTERDAM 371 
 
 my life, though I never testified, there being no 
 proper church at Gravesend, and Ivar just as bad 
 off, and in London they were in such out-of-the- 
 way places, and nothing but chairs ! " She gave 
 a little grim laugh at the memory of the chairs 
 and their bearers. " So, someway or other, I 
 never testified; but I am not afraid. Them Above 
 are ready to make allowances. Anyways, I've 
 been told so." 
 
 " It is a long way to Outerby, Ladarine," an 
 swered Mclvar. " I would lay you beside 
 Madame Van Ruyven. You knew her for many 
 years." 
 
 "I never cared much for Madame Van Ruy 
 ven," she answered, " and nobody knows how long 
 we may be dead. I could not rest in my grave, 
 if it was dug anywhere but Outerby churchyard. 
 Besides the dead and gone Mclvars might not like 
 a Gilpin among them. I'm sure I would feel more 
 than a bit lonely myself, so I will go to my own. 
 It is best so." 
 
 For the rest, my readers can easily write it 
 for themselves ; for life though it is set in an end 
 less variety of frames, is in reality very much the 
 same in all essentials we suffer and enjoy, we 
 love and hate, and work and wish, and the dream 
 is happy or sorrowful, clear or dark, as it is given 
 to us. A million lives would be like a million 
 waves of the Atlantic, all alike, and yet all dif 
 ferent. And, as every wave would finally reach
 
 372 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 the shore, so all the lives would finally reach the 
 grave. 
 
 Gael and Agratha lived long enough to see 
 the entrance of that dynasty that was to an 
 nihilate the Highland Clans as a system of life and 
 government; but all their life they were facing 
 onward to the shadows in which their graves were 
 hid in those lonely acres above the stormy Minch. 
 For two hundred years now the great pines have 
 whispered and crooned above them, and there is 
 a granite pillar at their head on which is graven 
 the words: 
 
 " THEY BEST IN PEACE " 
 
 But do they : We have a nobler hope for them, 
 the hope of 
 
 " The freer step, the fuller breath, 
 
 The wide horizon's grander view; 
 The sense of life that knows no Death, 
 The Life that maketh all things new."
 
 CHAPTER FOURTEEN 
 
 STUYVESANT AND ANOTHER 
 
 WHILE writing of Governor Stuyvesant this thing 
 happened to me. I had collected from all possible 
 sources the facts recorded of his picturesque per 
 sonality, and as I began to clothe these dry bones 
 of history with human passions, and flesh and 
 blood purposes and ambitions, I became persist 
 ently aware of a familiarity which would not be 
 dismissed. One day the source of this familiarity 
 was suddenly revealed to me, and ever since, I 
 have marvelled at the likeness between a man 
 popularly considered dead for more than two cen 
 turies, and a man dwelling in our midst, and known 
 to all, either by personal contact, or vivid reports 
 and descriptions. Let any one consider the fol 
 lowing distinctive qualities of Stuyvesant, and in 
 all probability they will quickly remember a liv 
 ing man, who has all the fiery radiations of his 
 character, modified in some cases by the spirit of 
 a more refined age, and intensified in others by its 
 wider knowledge. 
 
 Stuyvesant had a thorough respect for the 
 ordinances of religion, and personally observed 
 them. 
 
 373
 
 374 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 He was a good husband, father, and brother, 
 and a stickler for all household virtues. 
 
 He advocated early marriage and loved chil 
 dren. 
 
 His private morals were unimpeachable, his 
 public ones equally beyond question. 
 
 He was a true friend, faithful through good 
 and evil report. He was also an open enemy, he 
 did not carry his hatred secretly. He stabbed no 
 man in the dark. 
 
 He detested a mob government, and passionately, 
 advocated centralisation and one supreme head 
 of public affairs. 
 
 He had a wonderfully magnetic presence. If 
 he chose to win the crowd, no one could resist him. 
 
 Above all, he possessed a vivid straight-forward 
 eloquence. His words were javelins, and he sent 
 them home with such scathing, picturesque ad 
 jectives that men were compelled to listen to 
 them. 
 
 Naturally he was a soldier, had true military 
 instincts, and great personal courage. 
 
 He was a scholar as well as a soldier, and when 
 released from the cares of government, became 
 a great reader. 
 
 He had an inborn love of splendour, delighted 
 in rich clothing, fine furniture and paintings, and 
 a noble dwelling place. 
 
 He insisted on honouring the government with 
 all respectful ceremonies, such as the flying of
 
 STUYVESANT AND ANOTHER 375 
 
 flags, the booming of cannon, the incitement of 
 trumpets and military music. 
 
 This was the man who two hundred and fifty 
 years ago governed New York with a strong hand, 
 and left behind him traditions of personal influ 
 ence so powerful, that neither the advent of newer 
 heroes, nor the crushing materialism of later times 
 have been able to entirely discredit them. He is 
 still believed to stamp about the streets laid over 
 his beloved Bowery farm at all hours of the night, 
 and unexpectedly to visit the watchmen of these 
 streets, if not doing their duty. 
 
 Yet this personality, so vigorous and interest 
 ing after the lapse of two centuries and a half, is 
 believed by the majority to have left this earth 
 forever. They are sure that 
 
 "The good Knight is dust, 
 His sword rust, 
 His soul is with the saints they trust." 
 
 ^This trust is doubtful. Truly his soul, when it 
 dropped the fleshly garment, called Peter Stuy- 
 vesant, as worn out and of no further use, would 
 go first to those starry hostelries, which are pro 
 vided for the comforting and instruction of good 
 souls between their reincarnations. 
 
 Here it would rest until it had assimilated all 
 the experiences of its late life, and recollected 
 and reviewed the countless bodies it had made use
 
 376 A MAID OF OLD NEW YORK 
 
 of, on its march onward. For the soul marches 
 continually between two worlds, one containing all 
 the memories of the past, the other all the hopes 
 of the future. 
 
 A strong soul like Peter Stuyvesant's would 
 not rest long even in Paradise; it would grow 
 quickly weary of quiescent repose, it would soon 
 recall the dear Earth, its struggles, victories and 
 defeats. It would desire to strive, not to rest ; to 
 burn, not to smoulder ; to win by merit, and never 
 rest while there was more to win. No Isles of the 
 Blest, no quiet seats of the just, no angel songs on 
 the golden streets would satisfy. Stuyvesant 
 would choose rather the wages of going on, even, 
 by the road of Earth's pilgrimages, battles, vic 
 tories and defeats, until he reached the colossal 
 manhood of a Son of God. 
 
 " For it is past belief, that Christ hath died 
 Only that we unending psalms may sing ; 
 That all the gain Death's awful curtains hide, 
 Is this eternity of antheming." 
 
 They that have ears to hear and souls to un 
 derstand, let them do so; they will likely find a 
 new Peter Stuyvesant in their midst. If they 
 cannot, there is no blame to them, for this faith 
 of supreme justice and abounding consolations 
 comes neither by preaching nor reading, it de 
 pends upon a spiritual condition. When the soul
 
 STUYVESANT AND ANOTHER 377 
 
 is in that condition, the truth of reincarnation re 
 veals itself naturally and spontaneously, just as a 
 rose tree, when it has clothed its thorny branches 
 with living leaves finds some morning among them 
 the marvel of the rose. 
 
 THE END
 
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