m UC-NRLF B 3 327 DhE ■UlUtUIJUIlll i!!IJJ((lH!UII •lUUililUllM -rfuHiiiYnui' iinniu/jfui! ■ ni muifinv.' ' n m I n ; 1 1 1 1 1 1 iiiUiuuitiiui ■ ntuimiiitu illillJH---^--- THE FIRST OF THE KNICKERBOgKERSi 21 aale of 1673. BY P. HAMILTON MYERS AUTHOR OF THE " YOUNG PATROON," ETC. ' ' Noch leefl de trouwe zorgh van Amstels Burger-Heeren : En strekt zigh Oost en West ten beste van 't gemeen : Enkonnen kloekkelijk een Landt en volk regeeren Dat schier gelijk het Vee liep wild en woest daar heen. Die grijse en vvijse zorg doet Hollands Thuyn bewaren ; En't JiTieuvre JVederland ook Christelijk wel varen." E, jVieitwenhof s Ode, dedicated to De Hoogloffelijcke Joan Huydekooper, Lord of JVeerdyck. SECOND EDITION. NEW-YORK: GEORGE P. PUTNAM, 155 BROADWAY LONDON. PUTNAM'S AMERICAN AGENCY. Removed from Paternoster Row to J. Chapman, 142 Stranp. MDCCCXI.IX. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by GEORGE P. PUTNAM, Id the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York. EDWAKD O. JEMQNS, PRINTER, 114 Nassau St, New York. T O WASHINGTON IRVING, ESQ., THIS VOLUME IS (BY PERMISSION,) BY THE AUTHOR, r^^.-p. y ised ; for the shades of his cotemporary heroes are also hovering near, and many thronging memories are summoned from the cloudy realms of Tradition, obe= dient to the spell of that magical name. To throw around these aerial messengers the fetters of pen and ink, and to preserve them a little longer from their destined oblivion, or mayhap, ah, wo is me ! to hasten them, by an unfortunate association, to that gloomy end —such is my more humble expectation. Thy memory. ^\)c ffivst of t!)e mnicfecrliocftcrs. 11 oh noble and magnanimous Evert ! embodiment of the sterling virtues of a noble and magnanimous peo- ple, may form indeed the theme of passing eulogy, thy frailties perhaps elicit a passing smile. But thou art introduced novi^ and here (be quiet, restive shade !) rather as the usher and forerunner of one claiming a more distinguished notice. Nay, never shake thy hoary locks at me ! A friend and confidant of the valiant Stuyvesant, sayest thou? a member of his privy council ? one of his body-guard as 'tv^ere ? What though thou v\^ert ? Thou art a shade, innocu- ous now, and must stand awhile aside, while Youth and Beauty claim our first regard. Youth and Beauty ! Perennial ideas of a flitting reality ! how like the sunshine do ye glide from point to point, among the generations of men, gilding with your beams each successive race, and followed still by the penumbra of advancing age. Not such, however, are their reflections who bask within your beams, nor such were thine, oh pure and peerless Effie ! fairest of Manhattan's many fair ! rejoicing in thy dowery of charms, profuse as blossoms on the vernal bough. The shade of Evert stands appeased, and smiles ap- proving now, willing, as in life, to concede to thee, sole centre of his love, all precedence of praise. A picture of happiness and content were they, the gray-haii;ed man and his beautiful daughter, sitting at 12 tmfit iFirst of tt)c mnickerbocftersf. summer's twilight in the open porch that overlooked the silvery Hudson, while fragrant wreaths of smoke hung suspended, halo-like, above the head of the one, and glossy curls, brown, rich and silken, floated as airily around the gently-tinted cheeks of the other. Not with embroidery or books — features rather of a more modern day — were Efiie's snowy fingers busy ; but, girt with mysterious utensils of long, slim wire, they nimbly moved, while eyes and thoughts were roaming far abroad, unheeding pussy's playful antics with the stray ball of worsted, which she now tapped daintily with velvet paw, and now pounced fiercely on, with talons all unsheathed. If shadows could make indentures, Evert's portrait would have adorned the wall, daguerreotyped by the setting sun ; for where now he sat, had he regu- larly smoked his evening pipe, through the warm months of summer, for twenty-five long years. There, eight years before, had he been startled from his wonted reverie upon the future greatness of the New Netherlands, and the growing honor of their High Mightinesses, by the booming guns, whose echoes across the bay and through the distant forests, were but the prolonged dirge of his patriotic hopes. An English fleet was in the harbor, and an English army on its decks. Not numerous, it is true, were the foe, nor manv were their floating^ forts, but 2i:i)e jFirst of t!)c IS^nicttevtiociters, 13 there was enough to strike terror into many an honest burgher's heart, and to turn the hps of Evert whiter than the falHng ashes of his pipe. He was one of the few vahant spirits who, clustering around their daunt- less governor, the good old Stuyvesant, would, like him, have repelled the invasion by the sacrifice of their lives ; and if the superabundant valor of a few could have been infused into the sluggish masses, not then at least would the banners of St. George have waved in triumph over the walls of New Amsterdam. Grievous indeed had been the troubles of the worthy Stuyvesant and his doughty band of councillors. Is it not recorded by Diedrich the Great, in the ancient chronicles of New York,how the steady and successive encroachments of the English colonies upon the Dutch governor's domains had long before tasked all his resources of resistance ? How even argument, which, next to powder, the military governor esteemed, and which he did not scorn to use when the munitions of war were wanting, had failed to convince the expan- sive New Englanders of the duty of staying at home ? That principle, which since has grown into a proverb, was already implanted in the puritan breasts, and new settlements were then, as now, all the rage. The banks of the Delaware, the green shores of Long Island, and even the vicinity of the noble Hudson, Dutch in its discovery, Dutch by long possession, and 14 t)e ffixst ot tijB JS^nicfeerbocfecrs . . Dutch in the very language of its gurgling waters, bore witness that the future schoolmasters of Ame- rica were already abroad. It was in vain to reason with a people whose modest charter reached to the Pacific coast, and who purchased their lands, not of proprietaries, or of crowns, but of their natural own- ers, the Indians. " Where, then, are the New Neth- erlands ?" was the question of the perplexed gov- ernor, in response to the vast and increasing claims of the Yankees ; and not soothing to that testy func- tionary was the laconic reply of his adversaries, ** We do not know." But now the crowning calamity had come ; the re- verberations of the threatening cannon had died away ; the lofty demand of surrendry, the patriotic resolves of the few, the pusillanimous capitulation of the many — all was over. The gallant governor was de- posed, and Sir Richard Nichols reigned in his stead. But, saith an ancient and punning chronicler, unknown to the present age, if Nichols reigned, Stuyvesant stormed, and tempestuous indeed was the time. And Evert, too, was at first turbulent with wrath ; but in his milder nature that gusty passion soon sank to a subdued and gentle grief; and nightly now, as he took his accustomed seat, did he lament the passing away of the good old times, and with frag- mentary hopes of their return, build airy castles. 2Ei)e Sfixst of tije Unicttcrftocfeecs. 15 smoke-encircled, and vanishing in smoke. But time had tempered his grief, and moderated his expecta- tions. A change might come — he would not despair ; but he no longer looked daily to see the gallant Tromp whitening the Narrows with his crowded sails, nor watched the iron weather-cock for favoring winds to let in the imaginary fleet. With Stuyve- sant, now a private citizen, and his boon companion, he revelled in the memories of the past, and enjoyed, not sparingly, the creature comforts of life, with a zest seemingly but little impaired by care. He was wont, it is true, to decry even the dainties on which he lux- uriated, as inferior to those produced under the old Dutch rule. But it was remarked that it was alw^ays the second flagon of ale which elicited criticism, and the fourth dozen of oysters, in which, although con- fessedly plump and luscious, there was ever a l^ck of a certain flavor peculiar to their ancestors. But Evert had substantial cause for his attachment to the parent country. His large possessions — and very large they were — were chiefly the fruit of her bounty, a munificent requital for early colonial ser- vices which had been deemed important by the home government. His estate lay chiefly upon Long Island, although his homestead was in the city, and he held an unheeded title-deed for a few hundred acres of wild land a mile beyond the city wall, and stretching along 16 grije ffivsf^^of ti)c l^n i citer liocfeers. the shore of the Hudson. In regard to this last- named property, he had often expressed his confident conviction that, but for the calamitous change in the government, his children w^ould have lived to see it highly valuable, and worth perhaps even a guinea to the acre. But Evert w^as a sanguine man, and must not be censured for his enthusiasm. His household, at the period novi^ spoken of, consisted only of himself and two children, with the usual retinue of slaves in- cident, even at that early day, to all the wealthy Dutch families. The beautiful Effie has already been named, and of her brother it is sufficient at present to say that he was a merry, rattling wag of twenty-two, full of life, and utterly indifferent, as long as he was allowed to pursue his piscatory and forest sports un- molested, whether Charles the Second was his sove- reign,or whether he was under the dominion of their Mighty Highnesses, (as he used to call them,) the States General of Holland. The venison was as good, he said, after feasting heartily upon a haunch which had been bounding at sunrise over the hills of Harlem, as in the days of the Dutch, but the more frequent salutes at the fort were scaring the deer farther into the wilderness. He cared little for this, however, for he had a noble hunter, which had been sent to him by a sporting cousin in Holland, and upon which, together with six hounds and a few promising puppies. ^tfc ffivst of t!)e SSktiicfeerftockcvs. IT was lavished, seemingly, the whole wealth of his affec- tions. It will naturally be supposed that Effie, the beauti- ful, and the heiress, was not without her adnairers ; for our ancestors of that age, unlike ourselves, are said not always to have been indifferent to metallic charms. Suitors she certainly had, and while we have been wandering, instead, to other subjects, it ought to have been said that the party on the Dutch councillor's stoop had been increased to three — that a young and buckish-looking gallant was disputing with the kitten the honor of holding Miss Effie's ball of worsted, and that the little belle, smiling coldly, was listening with a semi-frown to the pretty flatteries of her companion. 18 Efit ffivBt of tt)e B-nicfeerliocfecrs. CHAPTER II. Among the colleagues of the venerable Mr, Knick- erbocker in the council-board of the last governor of New Netherlands, was one Wilhelmus Groesbeck, the counterpart in many respects of Evert, his co- immigrant in early life, and, as the latter was accus- tomed to designate him, a man of substance. But, alas for time and change ! the New Netherlands had ceased to exist ; the governor no longer wielded the dread bato7i of office ; the council-board was broken up, and the man of substance was a shade. Although in life he had enjoyed the harmless illu- sion of being the owner of a certain portion of the planet on which he had been permitted to live, his title, as grave men of the law advise, extending to the centre of the earth, three thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven miles, (and some odd feet, which he was willing to throw off,) notwithstanding all this, he died, it is believed, without materially changing the position of his property. Not, however, without de- cidedly changing the position of a scape-grace son, who had watched hopefully his progenitor's apoplectic Btft iFirst of t|)e 2S-«icfeerbocfeers. 19 symptoms for many years, and who was disconsolate indeed — until all attempts at resuscitation were aban- doned. Tills son, by that strange perversity of affec- tion so often observed, had ever been the chief object of his father's regard, and found himself now the principal heir to his estate, and the direct devisee of many wise and well-worded admonitions besides. That Egbert was a Jirsf child, and thus peculiarly the remembrancer of one who had long forsaken earth — that he bore he?' features — that he had been her idol — these perhaps were some of the strands of that strong paternal affection which had outlived in- gratitude and rebellion. For Wilhelmus had another son, who, if not disinherited, was left comparatively indigent, and dependent in part upon the bounty of his elder brother, to whose protection he was com- mended. The partial parent, proud of his estate, had been desirous that it should be preserved entire, in one branch of the family ; and there was something in the bold and dashing air of his eldest boy which com- mended him to the father's view, as a fitting person to perpetuate the ancestral honors. He was a headlong fellow, and although entirely selfish and unprincipled, bore an exterior of frankness and candor, not a little pleasing to the casual observer. He was a famous sportsman too, and had carried off the honors of the chase on many a well-contested field— triumphs so 20 ^l^t ffivst of t|)c B-nicfeevbocfeevs . nearly martial, as to elevate him highly in the good graces of the late military governor. Rudolph was bookish, mild and contemplative. He soared to many an empja-ean eminence of thought, and if he took any flying leaps, it was upon the winged steed of Parnassus. He never par- ticipated in the wassail or the song with the bloods of the day, the ebullitions of whose coarser nature seemed to jar upon his sensitive mind. Yet his heart was a well-spring of every noble affection, and he was alive to all the harmonies and beauties of Nature. If modest and retiring, he was firm and stable in his character, (thanks to his Flemish blood !) and he was possessed of a fund of humor, which, although always .sparkling, seldom degenerated into sarcasm. Such were the brothers to whom the great Groesbeck estate had descended, in a shower of wealth to the one, and a slender competence to the other. But Egbert had additional cause for self-gratula- tion, besides that of being the recipient of so bountiful a patrimony ; for he was the afiianced partner of the beautiful Efiie. Not that any personal compact existed between them, but the matter had been arranged years before, by older heads, which, shak- ing themselves wisely together, had settled the whole affair, leaving nothing at all for the youngsters to do, excepting quietly to acquiesce in the proposed arrangement, when the set time should arrive. What ^\)t ffivst of ti)e Itnicfeerbocftcrs. 21 effect Egbert's sudden enfranchisement from paternal authority was like to have upon the matter, did not at once appear. Certain it is that he showed no proper appreciation of his privileges. The fruit which hangs within our grasp, however rich and luscious, is not always the most tempting ; for the eye ever wanders to the more distant branches, and searches for inaccessible treasures. Indeed the mod- est and retiring charms of Effie, were scarcely calcu- lated to captivate so coarse a mind as that of Egbert. The hoyden beauty who could meet midway his addresses, who could flatter and cajole him, who could talk vociferously and laugh boisterously, was far more likely to attract his admiration ; and such a charmer, unfortunately for the young heir, lived in his neighborhood, the sole object of whose ambition was his subjugation. She was the daughter of one Hiram Sharp, a man who had transferred his talents from one of the New England settlements to that of New York, but a few years prior to the period now spoken of. As this latter personage, like his daughter, is destined to figure somewhat in the following narra- tive, it may be allowable here briefly to describe him. Of Miss Euphemia, and of her younger brother, who was just arrived at man's estate, and rejoiced in the sonorous name of Benhadad, little need at present be said, as the progress of this history will sufli- 22 2r|)c iFirst of tt)c Unicfeerbocfeers. ciently develop their prominent beauties of charac- ter. Hiram had been a lawyer, and one of that variety vi^hich so often brings opprobrium upon his noble profession. The organ of cunning, w^hatever may be its designation in the nomenclature of phrenology, was the nucleus of his brain : his pineal gland was there, and his soul ; for Hiram was what is called an acute man. He was wide awake, as the saying is ; that is to say, he w^as always looking out for his own interests, and looking on coldly, yet closely, at every- thing else. Of about fifty years, rather tall, slightly stooping, with a sharp spectacled face, and little, rest- less gray eyes, laughing much, and sneering more, but always watching — such was Mr. Sharp. He was not at the time now spoken of, properly a lawyer, for he had abandoned his profession, and was engaged in a miscellaneous trading business far more lucrative. He bought peltry of the Indians, poor simpletons, who thronged his doors, eager to exchange the wealth of the forests for valueless trinkets, or the suicidal draught. He was suspected, too, of carrying on a still more reprehensible species of commerce. It is well known that, in that early state of the colony, the government, weak and unsettled, was often com- pelled to wink at the greatest enormities. Pirates thronged the seas, and, scarcely dissembling their character, visited the settlements. They were, of Efft jFit^st of t|)C mnicfecri)ocfecis. 23 course, a rough, bull-dog race, whose huge whiskers and jaunty caps were a terror to all beholders, and the weak officials of the law were fain to believe them good, honest seamen, a little eccentric perhaps, but evidently industrious and thriving. These wor- thies were often seen lounging about Hiram's store, and if rich foreign fabrics adorned his shelves more plentifully on such occasions — it was a coincidence certainly, but what was a coincidence ! You would not deprive a man of his good name merely on sus- picion, gentle reader, and if you would, let me tell you that your ancestors were far more charitable. Certain it is that Hiram Sharp was famed for being a man of good moral character. It was what he prided himself upon. He could have brought troops of wit- nesses to any tribunal to testify to it, and Captain Ripley, the gentleman from Portugal, would have clinched the matter with more oaths, probably, than any magistrate would have required. It is scarcely necessary to say that Mr. Sharp waxed wealthy. His roots struck deep into the soil, and his branches overshadowed the land. They overshadowed, too, many an honest Dutch burgher, who, in the quiet contemplation of his cabbages, his pipes, and his chubby-headed boys, saw the tide of trade roll tur- bulently by, without ever dreaming of embarking upon its treacherous surface. They vented some 24 ?ri>e ffivst of t1)e Unicifecrtioctters. harmless imprecations, at times, upon the upstart Yan- kee, fully believing that Satan was his right-hand man, and that he would yet be seen flying away bodily with the wily lawyer, and all his ill-gotten treasures. Mr. Knickerbocker was among the few wealthy Hollanders whose possessions greatly exceeded those of the New Englander, and the stock of moral qualities which was hoarded up in the guile- less b;-east of the latter, was enhanced and beauti- fied by the crowning one of envy. He could not bear to see the silver-haired Evert walking quietly about with his hands behind him, the acknowledged proprietor of fifty thousand acres of land. And when he learned that his own amiable daughter, imbued with paternal prudence, was angling wilily for the treasures of the defunct Groesbeck, his dislike to the Knickerbockers was by no means diminished ; for he knew well the intended union of Egbert and Effie, and he had but little hope that it could be prevented. But when Hiram could do nothing else, he could tvatch, and silently and calmly he observed the course of events. Yet vigilant as he was, there were some things which eluded his observation, or he would have ceased so eagerly to desire the alliance which he contemplated for his daughter. Egbert's wealth gave but little promise of perpetuity. A career marked by folly and extravagance did not necessarily Ef)t JfU-st of tfje B-iitcfeerijocftErs. 26 lead him to transcend his ample income, but there is one variety of vice which undermines with facility the most colossal fortunes. If the administration of the Duke of York had been signalized by a large acces- sion of English gentry, and gallant cavahers, to the province, it had also been marked by the influx of ad- venturers of every description. Gambling had then as now its fashionable devotees, and its systematic sharpers, who were quick to discover their legitimate prey ; and when it is said that Egbert unwarily ven- tured within the circuit of this great moral maelstrom, the precariousness of his possessions will be readily conceded. But his addiction to so fatal a habit, not- withstanding his losses had already been large, was unknown even to the astute Hiram, and was of course unsuspected by Mr. Knickerbocker ; for the heavy mortgages which lay upon his fair fields did not change their smiling aspect, or check their growing verdure. Long wavering in his choice between the lawyer's daughter and the gentle Effie, it was only by views of a mercenary character that he was at length brought to a decision, and foregoing his frequent visits to the former, he seemed to prosecute with earnestness his claims upon his affianced bride. Now Effie had a heart full of all pure and noble emotions, and in her utter loneliness would doubtless easily 26 tUftt jFivstof t\)c linicfecvliocit£i*s have been won by a generous and worthy wooer. But, she had been offended by Egbert's seeming indif- ference, and resolved, with true feminine spirit, to punish him, if only with temporary resentment. Well would it have been for the tardy lover if the gentle vengeance of Effie had been all that he had to dread. Well, if there had not been one, w^hose cool, observant eye was upon him, whose toils were all around him, and who, although apparently inactive, was ever watching — watching — watching. Sijc iFUst of tijc 2S-nicfecri)ocfecvs. 21 CHAPTER III. Well might the venerable Evert look regretfully back upon departed days of Dutch dominion in the province of the New Netherlands. So many were the invidious distinctions made between the Dutch and English residents, by the new authorities, and so needless the vexation and disquiet inflicted upon the former, that some began to take alarm, lest even the titles to real estate which had been acquired under the old dynasty, should be set aside. The power bestowed by the Duke of York upon Governors Nichols and Lovelace, was of a plenary nature, and was executed much in accordance with the despotic spirit which, at that period, marked the British rule. That most of the oppression of these officers was the result rather of a system for which they were not accountable, than of any unusual personal depravity, may probably be true : yet the man who could utter the sentiment that severity was the best cure for dis- content, and that taxes should be made so heavy, that the necessity of discharging them should leave the people no time to grumble, certainly possessed some of the essential elements of tyranny. How long he 28 S:i)c JFivst of t1)r lS.nicfeeri)ocfeers. could have withstood the spirit of the present age, outside of the Celestial Empire, might be a very pretty problem, and v^ell worth the solving. If, however, Governor Lovelace looked with an evil eye upon some of the more wealthy Hollanders, he did not attempt to dispossess them of their lands, but follow- ing the example of Sir Richard Nichols, he reaped a rich harvest of fees, by requiring a renewal of all patents which had been granted by the former govern- ment. • The brief administration of his predecessor had left this labor unaccomplished, and even Love- lace probably consulted the exigencies of his private exchequer, in the time and manner of enforcing the requirement. But early in the autumn of the year 1672, the few who had neglected previous admonitions on this point,were warned, by a governmental edict, of the necessity of compliance within a prescribed period. Among those by whom this mandate had hitherto been unheeded, and who now prepared to give it a grumbling acquiescence, was Mr. Knickerbocker ; but what was his consternation on being unable, after the most diligent search, to find any trace of a patent for his own extensive domains. In vain w^as the depos- itory of family writings ransacked, and countless old papers, musty and mildewed, brought to light. Bend- ing over chests, rummaging through drawers, reach- ing to topmost shelves, and peering into dark corners, 9rt)c ffivst of tl)c B^uicfecufiocfecvs. 29 the alarmed old man passed a whole day, without success. Tired with his labor, he sat down to reflect, and, although he distinctly remembered that his manor rights had been settled in council, fifteen years before, and that he was then fully entitled to his patent, he could not recall to mind the existence of any such instrument. He did not remember ever to have seen it, and the fearful truth gradually forced itself upon his mind, that by some strange oversight, it never had been executed. A blind confidence in the stability of the then existing government was doubtless, in some degree, the cause of this culpable negligence. But how dreadful was his dilemma, with watchful enemies on every side, and so strong a pre- text for wresting his estate from his hands ! He knew full well that if he had no deed, his lands would be regarded as having belonged to the Dutch government at the time of the conquest, and as having passed, by that event, to the new sovereignty. Desperate with fear, he resumed his laborious search, and quitted it only when exhausted both in body and mind. On the next day he gained access to the public office where the object of his search, if in existence, should have been recorded, and without disclosing his object to any, made a diligent examination, which proved equally fruitless. It is needless to say that he return- ed to his home, a sad and dispirited man. All his 30 STfjc ffivst of tf)c B-tiicfecrftocfeevs. m vast possessions seemed slipping from his grasp, as it were by some necromantic wile. It was a consolation however to reflect that as yet he was the sole possessor of this important secret ; and earnestly hoping that what had so long remained undiscovered, might con- tinue to be concealed, he resolved to maintain a per- fect silence upon the subject. Doubtless, he thought, the new instrument could be constructed without any reference to the old, for the tract to be embraced in it was known as certain distinct townships, and required no definite description. Such was the judicious rea- soning of Evert, but reason and resolution did not allay his alarm. With the mania of a mind filled with a single idea, he was haunted day and night by the dreadful fear that some accident would betray the momentous truth. He looked suspiciously at his ten- ants, as they thronged on quarter-day at his door, and wondered that they did not question his rights. Quie- tude became a stranger to his breast, and sleep for- sook his pillow ; or else even in dreams his grief returned. Visionary sheriffs surrounded his bed, serving countless writs of ejectment: long parch- ment processes, the very caligraphy of which was fierce and threatening, unrolled themselves before his eyes : little mocking demons perched upon his bed-posts, and, grinning widely, whispered to each other, ''He hasn't any title T and one. bending even E\)t iFtvst of tyc l^iiicfecrftocftci-s. 31 over his pillow, with cheeks distended like a trumpeter's, shouted into his ears, '• Where's your jmtent ? where' s your 'patent? Morning came, and he walked about his grounds for relief; but fear and suspicion were his companions. The very fowls seemed to be cackling forth his secret. Chanticleer jumped upon the fence, and crowed it to the winds ; the ducks were babbling about it in the pond ; the geese, with long necks outstretched, hissed it in his ears ; and a fierce old gobbler, his gills red with wrath, eyed him askance, as he sputtered forth his views on the subject, with wonderful volubility, though fortunately in an unknown tongue. He strolled into the city, and sought diversion of mind. His walk led him directly past the store of the attorney, whose meddling propensities he was well acquainted with, and whom, of all men, he dreaded most to encoun- ter. He was just congratulating himself on getting past unaccosted, when the sharp visage and sharper voice of the lawyer made him cognizant of his approach. Evert prepared to give him a civil good-day, and glide quietly by, but the other evidently contemplated some further salutation. He had a pencil in one hand, and in the other a little scrap of paper, scrawled all over with figures and diagrams, and there was an ominous pen behind his ear; altogether, never had the lawyer looked so formidable. He came up close 32 B])t jFivst of tf)c 2^uicfecvhocftcv5. to Evert, and poked his sharp nose almost into the old man's face, as, with an awfully distinct articulation upon each word, he said, " Mr. Knickerbocker, where' s — your — patent?''' Poor Evert's heart stood still; the blood forsook his face, and the showering ashes fell, flake-like, from his trembling pipe. Several seconds elapsed before he could reply, and the lawyer, who in reality design- ed nothing more than to elucidate some trifling bound- ary question, stood wondering at his emotion. Now, great as was Evert's alarm, he would not, in the sin- gleness of his heart, have uttered a wilful falsehood for his whole estate, and he replied, stammeringly, that he did not think he could lay his hand upon it at that moment. "Oh, of course not," said Hiram. "I did not sup- pose you carried it about with you, but I wanted to know how far north your ridge farm extends, as I have a tract of land adjoining ;" and the lawyer went on, chattering about links, and chains, and blazed trees, and stakes, and stones, and surveyors, until all these ideas were floating in a complete whirl through the brain of his bewildered auditor. Evert inquired what boundary Mr. Sharp claimed upon the south, and .upon the latter designating one which clearly em- braced a few acres of his own land, he replied, " Very well, Mr. Sharp, I'll not dispute it with you ; 2rt)e ifiv^t of ti)c 28^nic!terJ)ocfeevs. 33 put your fence where you think the line is, and it shall be all right." The lawyer, gratified and astonished, bowed in reply ; but, as Evert was walking off, he gave him the gratifying assurance that he would walk over to his house, nevertheless, on some fine day, and look at the patent— 3iS he wanted to see about the Whiston and Pebble Bay tracts, and about the Cove — and about " Yes — yes — yes,'' said the old man, tearing him- self away, with sad forebodings, " any time — any time. You'll come soon enough," he muttered to himself — " it's all gone. I see it clearly now, it's all gone — ah ! my poor, poor Effie." Evert went home utterly appalled. Ruin was "staring him in the face, pulling him by the sleeve, pushing him from behind, surrounding him on every side. Sharp would certainly come. Nothing in the world could stop him. An avalanche would not have been a feather in his path — an earthquake might have shaken him, but not his purpose. He could not fail to discover the whole secret, for the absence of the patent would arouse all his suspicions, and set his in- fernal wits at work. Thus thought the ex-councillor, and not without reason. From the moment when he parted with the wily lawyer, the latter had not ceased to wonder at his singular emotion. Malice sharpened 3 34 (!Ct)« iFCvst of Ijjc 1^nicl\efl)ocfters. bis wits, and his suspicions soon taking the right di- rection, he flew to the colonial record office, and, to his unspeakable delight, found that it contained no trace of Evert's title. His doubts now became cer- tainty — the agitation of the old man was all accounted for, and Hiram rubbed his hands, and grinned glee- fully, as he thought how many desirable objects the discovery of this momentous secret would enable him to accomplish. It was true, the recording of the pat- ent was not essential to its validity, and if Evert could produce it, his rights could not be questioned ; but that he could not do so seemed nearly certain. "Why else should it remain absent from the public books, and why such unnecessary alarm ? The pat- ent was either lost, or had never been executed, and, in either case, Hiram foresaw the downfall of his rival, a bountiful slice of his manor in his own hands, as a reward for his fidelity to the state, and, above all, a probable recovery of the mercenary Groesbeck and his extensive estates. With such inducements for ef- fort, he resolved to leave nothing undone ; and, sus- pending all other labors, he gave his mind solely to this magnanimous enterprise. His first step was to call upon Governor Lovelace, with whom he had long- been on confidential terms, and whose favor and pow- erful patronage rendered him additionally formidable. He did not, however, fully disclose his errand to that functionarv at first, but onlv hinted m o^enernl tenuis B\)t ffixst of tjbe Bnicfecrijocftcrs. 36 at his important secret, seeking to elicit the views and feelings of his companion. Lovelace, however, was not a man to be trifled with, and perceiving, more by the lawyer's countenance and manner, than by his words, that his mind was teeming with some impor- tant matter, he hastily replied : "Speak out, Mr. Sharp, speak out — you talk of escheats, and forfeitures, and rewards, quite too blindly. Tell your whole story, sir ; it is no small game that you have treed, I'll be sworn, and if it is any of these smoke-dried, disloyal, old curmudgeons who go about with their gold-headed canes, prating of their High Mightinesses, the States General, you may name your own price, sir, your own price, with- in the bounds of reason." " Would a fifth be too much ?" suggested Sharp, nervously. " A fifth, Hiram ? why, you grow modest, man — you do indeed — you shall have a third, sir, a third" re- turned Lovelace, who had, in reality, but little idea of the magnitude of the lawyer's '*game." Sharp now eagerly disclosed his whole story, to the great surprise of his companion, and the conference that followed was long and confidential. Let it suflice, that when Hiram went home, he was in a flush of excitement and joy, and he resolved to call on Mr. Knickerbocker the very ne^t day, and request a view of the patent. 36 2ri)e jFivst of t!)c 3S.nicfecvbocfeevs CHAPTER IV. Overwhelmed with the fear of his impending calamity, Evert in the mean time resolved to apply to his old friend, Governor Stuyvesant, for advice. The thought relieved him, and he flev^r to put it into execution. The ex-governor, who had retired from the city at the time of the conquest by the English, resided about two miles north of the wall, on his farm or Bowerie, a locality as far within the bounds of the modern town, as it was beyond the precincts of the old. He received Evert's intelligence in silence, and listened to the thrice-repeated story of the garrulous old man without reply. His countenance gave no indication of his thoughts, but his friend could read his changing emotions with sufficient accuracy, in the varying puffs that escaped from his pipe. The dense, dark cloud which burst forth at first, the little angry puffs that succeeded, and the light, easy, graceful wreaths that next ensued, were all intelligible. There was surprise and alarm at the danger — con- temptuous indignation at the lawyer — and, finally, distinct and certain relief. Poor Evert's eye bright- 2^1)0 JFifst of t|)0 J^nicktthocktxB, 37 ened as he beheld these harbingers of hope floating gracefully over his companion's head. He seized the hand of his friend, and, with watery eyes, looked the gratitude of his heart. Stuyvesant smiled in reply, and lowering his pipe for the first time, he said : " Go home, Mr. Knickerbocker, and be quiet ; / think I know where your patent is. Hans shall bring it to you. Go home, and go to bed, for you look like a spook, Mr. Knickerbocker — go home, go home," he continued, shaking the old man's hand, and holding him fast the meanwhile ; and then, his whole face changing to a thunder-cloud, he sputtered forth a string of Dutch anathemas at the meddling lawyer, as he turned hastily away, and left Evert quietly to pursue his homeward path. Hans, a tub-like lad of eighteen, was called and despatched at once to summon to the governor's presence. Mynheer Teunis Vanderbilt, an old, spare, spindle-shanked, shadowy man, scarcely larger than the smallest of his own money-bags, who had at one time been chief officer of state under the valiant Stuyvesant. He had been a sort of prime minister, chief councillor, civic and military secretary, and aid- de-camp, acting also occasionally as envoy extra- ordinary to Yankeedom and New Sweden. In these capacities and others, he had not only contrived to feather his own nest pretty eflfectually, but had trea- 38 Slje jFitst of tlje ^tnicfeetbocfeersf .* sured up a wholesome degree of wrath against the Yankees, and, like Stuyvesant, he now watched with jealous eyes all encroachments upon the privileges of his order, the old aristocracy of the land. When Mr. Vanderbilt arrived at the house of his friend, he found the latter sitting beside a table, on which were writing materials, and a large blank sheet of parchment. There was a vacant chair at the board, of which Teunis took possession, and light- ing his pipe, a silent fumigation ensued for about half an hour, the secretary's eye falling occasionally with an inquiring glance upon the parchment. " Hef you forgotten how to write, Teunis ?" at length inquired the governor, between puffs. " Nain — nain, Mynheer," replied the secretary, laughing. " Ich can write my name.'' *' I don't believe it," returned Stuyvesant quietly. Teunis gravely repeated his assertion. It was indeed a lesson that he had taken too much pains to learn, to allow of his easily forgetting it, for the sum total of his chirographical education had been de- voted to the acquirement of that one accomplishment, the art of writing his name. The force of learning could no further go. Stuyvesant pushed the parchment toward his amazed companion, and, putting a pen into his hand, pointed to the lower left-hand corner of the sheet. St)e jfitBt of t|)e B^nicttetiioclters. 39 Amazement seized upon poor Teunis, who stared first at the parchment, and then at the governor, but the latter, with his eyes fixed upon the ceiHng, sat puffing a regular ha ! ha ! and seemed utterly unconscious of his presence. The secretary seized the pen, and, afi;er some ineffectual attemps to mend it with his tobacco knife, set himself about his task. It was a tedious job, and the little man paused after accomplishing the first half, and smoked three pipes before resuming his labors, eyeing meanwhile, with much compla- cency, the scrawl before him, which might easily have been mistaken for the portrait of a many-legged spider. In less than an hour, however, the feat was satisfactorily performed, and Stuyvesant owned him- self mistaken. Mynheer Vanderbilt, however, was an astute man, and, after much silent cogitation, he began to wonder what was in the wind ; but his old habits of deference to his superior prevented him from encroaching upon his confidence by inquiring into anything which the other seemed desirous to conceal. He, therefore, rose to depart, and was arrested for a moment in the door-way by the voice of his friend. " Teunis !" said the governor, gruffly. The secretary turned, and looked back. " Teunis !" repeated Stuyvesant, more emphatically. *• Wal, Mynheer !" was the response. 40 ^\)t ffiXBt of ti)e lS^niclterl