those shootings of stars, eclipses of the moon, howlings of dogs, and flarings of candles, carefully noted and interpreted by the oracular sibyls of our day; who, in my humble opinion, are the legitimate inheritors and preservers of the ancient science of divination. This much is certain, that Governor Stuyvesant succeeded to the chair of state at a turbulent period; when foes thronged and threatened from without; when anarchy and stiff-necked opposition reigned rampant within; when the authority of their high mightinesses the lords states general, though founded on the broad Dutch bottom of unoffending imbecility; though supported by economy, and defended by speeches, protests, proclamations, yet tottered to its very centre; and when the great city of New-Amsterdam, though fortified by flag-staffs, trumpeters, and windmills, seemed like some fair lady of easy virtue, to lay open to attack, and ready to yield to the first invader. CHAP. II. Showing how Peter the Headstrong bestirred himself among the Rats and Cobwebs on entering into Office; and the perilous Mistake he was guilty of, in his Dealings with the Amphyctions. THE very first movements of the great Peter, on taking the reins of government, displayed the magnanimity of his mind, though they occasioned not a little marvel and uneasiness among the people of the Manhattoes. Finding himself constantly interrupted by the opposition, and annoyed by the sage advice of his privy council, the members of which had acquired the unreasonable habit of thinking and speaking for themselves during the preceding reign, he determined at once to put a stop to such grievous abominations. Scarcely, therefore, had he entered upon his authority, than he turned out of office all those meddlesome spirits that composed the factious cabinet of William the Testy, in place of whom he chose unto himself counsellors from those fat, somniferous, respectable families, that had flourished and slumbered under the easy reign of Walter the Doubter. All these he caused to be furnished with abundance of fair long pipes, and to be regaled with frequent corporation dinners, admonishing them to smoke, and eat, and sleep, for the good of the nation, while he took all the burden of government upon his own shoulders—an arrangement to which they all gave hearty acquiescence. Nor did he stop here, but made a hideous rout among the inventions and expedients of his learned predecessordemolishing his flag-staffs and windmills, which, like mighty giants, guarded the ramparts of New-Amsterdam -pitching to the duyvel whole batteries of quaker-guns -rooting up his patent gallows, where caitiff vagabonds were suspended by the waistband; and in a word, turning topsy-turvy the whole philosophic, economic, and windmill system of the immortal sage of Saardam. The honest folk of New-Amsterdam began to quake now for the fate of their matchless champion Anthony the trumpeter, who had acquired prodigious favour in the eyes of the women, by means of his whiskers and his trumpet. Him did Peter the Headstrong cause to be brought into his presence, and eyeing him for a moment from head to foot, with a countenance that would have appalled any thing else than a sounder of brass: " Prythee, who and what art thou?" said he. "Sire," replied the other, in no wise dismayed; "for my name, it is Anthony Van Corlear-for my parentage, I am the son of my mother— for my profession, I am champion and garrison of this great city of New-Amsterdam." "I doubt me much," said Peter Stuyvesant, "that thou art some scurvy costardmonger knave-how didst thou acquire this paramount 66 66 honour and dignity?"-" Marry, Sir," replied the other, like many a great man before me, simply by sounding my own trumpet."- Ay, is it so?" quoth the governor, why then let us have a relish of thy art." Whereupon he put his instrument to his lips, and sounded a charge, with such a tremendous outset, such a delectable quaver, and such a triumphant cadence, that it was enough to make your heart leap out of your mouth only to be within a mile of it. Like as a war-worn charger, while sporting in peaceful plains, if by chance he hear the strains of martial music, pricks up his ears, and snorts and paws and kindles at the noise: so did the heroic soul of the mighty Peter joy to hear the clangour of the trumpet; for of him might truly be said what was recorded of the renowned St. George of England-" there was nothing in all the world that more rejoiced his heart, than to hear the pleasant sound of war, and see the soldiers brandish forth their steeled weapons." Casting his eyes more kindly, therefore, upon the sturdy Van Corlear, and finding him to be a jolly, fat little man, shrewd in his discourse, yet of great discretion and immeasurable wind, he straightway conceived a vast kindness for him, and discharging him from the troublesome duty of garrisoning, defending, and alarming the city, ever after retained him about his person, as his chief favourite, confidential envoy, and trusty squire. Instead of disturbing the city with disastrous notes, he was instructed to play so as to delight the governor while at his repasts, as did the minstrels of yore in the days of glorious chivalry-and on all public occasions to rejoice the ears of the people with warlike melody; thereby keeping alive a noble and martial spirit. Many other alterations and reformations, both for the better and for the worse, did the governor make, of which my time will not serve me to record the particulars; suffice it to say, he soon contrived to make the province feel that he was its master, and treated the sovereign people with such tyrannical rigour, that they were all fain to hold their tongues, stay at home, and attend to their business; insomuch that party feuds and distinctions were almost forgotten, and many thriving keepers of taverns and dramshops were utterly ruined for want of business. Indeed the critical state of public affairs at this time demanded the utmost vigilance and promptitude. The formidable council of the Amphyctions, which had caused so much tribulation to the unfortunate Kieft, still continued augmenting its forces, and threatened to link within its union all the mighty principalities and powers of the east. In the very year following the inauguration of Governor Stuyvesant a grand deputation departed from the city of Providence (famous for its dusty streets and beauteous women), in behalf of the puissant plantation of Rhode Island, praying to be admitted into the league. The following mention is made of this application in certain records of that assemblage of worthies, which are still extant2. "Mr. Will Cottington and Captain Partridg of Rhoode Iland presented this insewing request to the commissioners in wrighting- "Our request and motion is in behalfe of Rhoode Iland, that wee the Ilanders of Rhoode Iland may be rescauied into combination with all the united colonyes of NewEngland in a firme and perpetuall league of friendship and amity of ofence and defence, mutuall advice and succor upon all just occasions for our mutuall safety and wellfaire, &c. "Will Cottington, There is certainly something in the very physiognomy of this document, that might well inspire apprehension. 2 Haz. Col. Stat. Pap. The name of Alexander, however misspelt, has been warlike in every age; and though its fierceness is in some measure softened by being coupled with the gentle cognomen of Partridge; still, like the colour of scarlet, it bears an exceeding great resemblance to the sound of a trumpet. From the style of the letter, moreover, and the soldierlike ignorance of orthography displayed by the noble captain, Alicxsander Partridg, in spelling his own name, we may picture to ourselves this mighty man of Rhodes, like a second Ajax, strong in arms, potent in the field, and as great a scholar as though he had been educated among that learned people of Thrace, who, Aristotle assures us, could not count beyond the number four. But whatever might be the threatening aspect of this famous confederation, Peter Stuyvesant was not a man to be kept in a state of incertitude and vague apprehension; he liked nothing so much as to meet danger face to face, and take it by the beard. Determined, therefore, to put an end to all these petty maraudings on the borders, he wrote two or three categorical letters to the grand council; which, though neither couched in bad Latin, nor yet graced by rhetorical tropes about wolves and lambs, and beetleflies, yet had more effect than all the elaborate epistles, protests, and proclamations of his learned predecessor put together. In consequence of his urgent propositions, the great confederacy of the east agreed to enter into a final adjustment of grievances and settlement of boundaries, to the end that a perpetual and happy peace might take place between the two powers. For this purpose Governor Stuyvesant deputed two ambassadors to negotiate with commissioners from the grand council of the league, and a treaty was solemnly concluded at Hartford. On receiving the intelligence of this event, the whole community was in an uproar of exultation. The trumpet of the sturdy Van Corlear sounded all day with joyful clangour from the ramparts of Fort Amsterdam, and at night the city |