USA > New York > New York City > A history of New-York : from the beginning of the world to the end of the Dutch dynasty > Part 26
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Nothing farther, however, occurred to molest the tranquillity of Mynher Beckman and his colony. Fendal and his myrmidons remained at home, carous- ing it soundly upon hoe-cakes, bacon, and mint-julep, and running horses, and fighting cocks, for which they were greatly renowned .- At hearing of this, Peter Stuyvesant was very well pleased, for notwithstand- ing his inclination to measure weapons with these monstrous men of the Susquehanna, yet he had al- ready as much employment nearer home as he could turn his hands to. Little did he think, worthy soul, that this southern calm was but the deceitful prelude. to a most terrible and fatal storm, then brewing, which was soon to burst forth and overwhelm the unsuspecting city of New-Amsterdam !
Now so it was, that while this excellent governor was giving his little senate laws, and not only giving them, but enforcing them too-while he was inces- santly travelling the rounds of his beloved province -posting from place to place to redress grievances, and while busy at one corner of his dominions all the rest getting into an uproar-at this very time, I.
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say, a dark and direful plot was hatching against him, in that nursery of monstrous projects, the British cab- inet. The news of his achievements on the Dela- ware, according to a sage old historian of New-Am- sterdam, had occasioned not a little talk and marvel in the courts of Europe. And the same profound writer assures us, that the cabinet of England began to entertain great jealousy and uneasiness at the in- creasing power of the Manhattoes, and the valour of its sturdy yeomanry.
Agents, the same historian observes, were sent by the Amphyctionic council of the east to entreat the assistance of the British cabinet in subjugating this mighty province. Lord Sterling also asserted his right to Long Island, and, at the same time, Lord Baltimore, whose agent, as has before been mentioned, had so alarmed Mynher Beckman, laid his claim be- fore the cabinet to the lands of South river, which he complained were unjustly and forcibly detained from him, by these daring usurpers of the Nieuw- Nederlandts.
Thus did the unlucky empire of the Manhattoes stand in imminent danger of experiencing the fate of Poland, and being torn limb from limb to be shared among its savage neighbours. But while these rapa- cious powers were whetting their fangs, and waiting for the signal to fall tooth and nail upon this delicious little fat Dutch empire, the lordly lion, who sat as umpire, all at once settled the claims of all parties, by laying his own paw upon the spoil. For we are
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told, that his majesty, Charles the Second, not to be perplexed by adjusting these several pretensions, made a present of a large tract of North America, including the province of New-Netherlands, to his brother, the Duke of York-a donation truly royal since none but great monarchs have a right to give away what does not belong to them.
That this munificent gift might not be merely nominal, his majesty, on the 12th of March, 1664, ordered that an armament should be forthwith pre- pared, to invade the city of New-Amsterdam by land and water, and put his brother in complete possession of the premises.
Thus critically are situated the affairs of the New- Netherlanders. The honest burghers, so far from thinking of the jeopardy in which their interests are placed, are soberly smoking their pipes, and thinking of nothing at all-the privy counsellors of the pro- vince are at this moment snoring in full quorum, while the active Peter, who takes all the labour of. thinking and acting upon himself is busily devising some method of bringing the grand council of Am- phyctions to terms. In the meanwhile, an angry cloud is darkly scowling on the horizon-soon shall it rattle about the ears of these dozing Nederlanders, and put the mettle of their stout-hearted governor completely to the trial.
But come what may, I here pledge my veracity that in all warlike conflicts and subtle perplexities, he shall still acquit himself with the gallant bearing
-
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and spotless honour of a noble-minded obstinate old cavalier .- Forward then to the charge !- shine out, propitious stars, on the renowned city of the Man- hattoes; and may the blessing of St. Nicholas go with thee-honest Peter Stuyvesant !
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CHAPTER III.
Of Peter Stuyvesant's expedition into the East Coun- try, showing that though an old bird, he did not un derstand trap.
GREAT nations resemble great men in this particu- lar, that their greatness is seldom known until they get in trouble ; adversity, therefore, has been wisely denominated the ordeal of true greatness, which, like gold, can never receive its real estimation, until it has passed through the furnace. In proportion, there- fore, as a nation, a community, or an individual (pos- sessing the inherent quality of greatness) is involved in perils and mifortunes, in proportion does it rise in grandeur-and even when sinking under calamity, makes, like a house on fire, a more glorious display than ever it did in the fairest period of its pros- perity.
The vast empire of China, though teeming with population and imbibing and concentrating the wealth of nations, has vegetated through a succession of drowsy ages ; and were it not for its internal rev- olution, and the subversion of its ancient government by the Tartars, might have presented nothing but an uninteresting detail of dull, monotonous prosperity. Pompeii and Herculaneum might have passed into oblivion, with a herd of their contemporaries, if they VOL. II. P
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had not been fortunately overwhelmed by a volcano. The renowned city of Troy has acquired celebrity only from its ten years' distress, and final conflagra- tion-Paris rises in importance by the plots and mas- sacres which have ended in the exaltation of the il- lustrious Napoleon-and even the mighty London itself has skulked through the records of time, cele- brated for nothing of moment, excepting the plague, the great fire, and Guy Faux's gunpowder plot !--- Thus cities and empires seem to creep along, enlarg- ing in silent obscurity under the pen of the historian, until at length they burst forth in some tremendous calamity-and snatch, as it were, immortality from the explosion !
The above principle being admitted, my reader will plainly perceive that the city of New-Amster- dam, and its dependent province are on the high road to greatness. Dangers and hostilities threaten from every side, and it is really a matter of astonishment to me, how so small a state has been able, in so short a time, to entangle itself in so many difficulties. Ever since the province was first taken by the nose, at the Fort of Good Hope in the tranquil days of Wouter Van Twiller, has it been gradually increas ing in historic importance ; and never could it have had a more appropriate chieftain to conduct it to the pinnacle of grandeur, than Peter Stuyvesant.
In the fiery heart of this iron-headed old warrior sat enthroned all those five kinds of courage describ- ed by Aristotle, and had the philosopher mentioned five hundred more to the back of them, I verily be-
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lieve he would have been found master of them all. The only misfortune was, that he was deficient in the better part of valour called discretion, a cold- blooded virtue which could not exist in the tropical climate of his mighty soul. Hence it was, he was continually hurrying into those unheard-of enter- prises that give an air of chivalric romance to all his history, and hence it was that he now conceived a project worthy of the hero of La Mancha himself.
This was no other than to repair in person to the great council of the Amphyctions, bearing the sword in one hand, and the olive-branch in the other-to require immediate reparation for the innumerable violations of that treaty which in an evil hour he had formed-to put a stop to those repeated maraudings on the eastern borders-or else to throw his gauntlet and appeal to arms for satisfaction.
On declaring this resolution in his privy council, the venerable members were seized with vast aston- ishment; for once in their lives they ventured to re- monstrate, setting forth the rashness of exposing his sacred person in the midst of a strange and barbarous people, with sundry other weighty remonstrances- all which had about as much influence upon the determination of the headstrong Peter, as though you were to endeavour to turn a rusty weathercock with a broken-winded bellows.
Summoning, therefore, to his presence, his trusty follower, Antony Van Corlear, he commanded him to hold himself in readiness to accompany him, the following morning, on this his hazardous enterprise.
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Now Antony the trumpeter was a little stricken in years, yet by dint of keeping up a good heart, and having never known care or sorrow, (having never been married,) he was still a hearty, jocund, rubicund, gamesome wag, and of great capacity in the doublet. This last was ascribed to his living a jolly life on those domains at the Hook, which Peter Stuyvesant had granted to him for his gallantry at Fort Casimir.
Be this as it may, there was nothing that more de- lighted Antony than this command of the great Peter, for he could have followed the stout-hearted old gov- ernor to the world's end with love and loyalty-and he moreover still remembered the frolicking, and dancing, and bundling, and other disports of the east country, and entertained dainty recollection of nu- merous kind and buxom lasses, whom he longed ex- ceedingly again to encounter.
Thus then did this mirror of hardihood set forth, with no other attendant but his trumpeter, upon one of the most perilous enterprises ever recorded in the annals of knight-errantry. For a single warrior to venture openly among a whole nation of foes ; but, above all, for a plain downright Dutchman to think of negotiating with the whole council of New-England -never was there known a more desperate under- taking !- Ever since I have entered upon the chroni- cles of this peerless but hitherto uncelebrated chicf- tain, has he kept me in a state of incessant action and anxiety with the toils and dangers he is constantly encountering-Oh! for a chapter of the tranquil
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reign of Wouter Van Twiller, that I might repose on it as on a feather bed !
Is it not enough, Peter Stuyvesant, that I have once already rescued thee from the machinations of these terrible Amphyctions, by bringing the whole powers of witchcraft to thine aid ?- Is it not enough, that I have followed thee undaunted, like a guardian spirit, into the midst of the horrid battle of Fort Christina ?- That I have been put incessantly to my trumps to keep thee safe and sound-now warding off with my single pen the shower of dastard blows that fell upon thy rear-now narrowly shielding thec from a deadly thrust, by a mere tobacco-box-now casing thy dauntless skull with adamant, when even thy stubborn ram-beaver failed to resist the sword of the stout Risingh-and now, not merely bringing thee off alive, but triumphant, from the clutches of the gigantic Swede, by the desperate means of a paltry stone pottle ?- Is not all this enough, but must thou still be plunging into new difficulties, and jeop- ardizing in headlong enterprises, thyself, thy trum- peter, and thy historian ?
And now the ruddy-faced Aurora, like a buxom chamber-maid, draws aside the sable curtains of the night, and out bounces from his bed the jolly red- haired Phœbus, startled at being caught so late in the embraces of Dame Thetis. With many a sable oath, he harnesses his brazen-footed steeds, and whips and lashes, and splashes up the firmament, like a loitering post-boy, half an hour behind his time. And now behold that imp of fame and prowess, the head-
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strong Peter, bestriding a raw-boned, switch-tailed charger, gallantly arrayed in full regimentals, and bracing on his thigh that trusty brass-hilted sword, which had wrought such fearful deeds on the banks of the Delaware.
Behold, hard after him, his doughty trumpeter Van Corlear, mounted on a broken-winded, wall-eyed, calico mare; his stone pottle, which had laid low the mighty Risingh, slung under his arm, and his trumpet displayed vauntingly in his right hand, decorated with a gorgeous banner, on which is emblazoned the great beaver of the Manhattoes. See them proudly issuing out of the city gate like an iron-clad hero of yore, with his faithful 'squire at his heels, the populace fol- lowing them with their eyes, and shouting many a parting wish and hearty cheering-Farewell, Hard- koppig Piet! Farewell, honest Antony !- Pleasant be your wayfaring-prosperous your return! The stoutest hero that ever drew a sword, and the wor- thiest trumpeter that ever trod shoe-leather!
Legends are lamentably silent about the events that befell our adventurers in this their adventurous travel, excepting the Stuyvesant manuscript, which gives the substance of a pleasant little heroic poem, written on the occasion by Domini Ægidius Luyck,* who appears to have been the poet laureat of New-
* This Luyck was, moreover, rector of the Latin School in Nieuw-Nederlandt, 1663. There are two pieces addressed to Ægidius Luyck, in D. Selyn's MSS. of poesies, upon his mar riage with Judith Isendoorn. Old MS.
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Amsterdam, This inestimable manuscript assures us, that it was a rare spectacle to behold the great Peter and his loyal follower, hailing the morning sun, and rejoicing in the clear countenance of nature, as they pranced it through the pastoral scenes of Bloemen Dael ;* which in those days was a sweet and rural valley, beautified with many a bright wild flower, re- freshed by many a pure streamlet, and enlivened here and there by a delectable little Dutch cottage, sheltered under some sloping hill, and almost buried in embowering trees.
Now did they enter upon the confines of Connec- ticut, where. they encountered many grievous diffi- culties and perils. At one place they were assailed by a troop of country 'squires and militia colonels, who, mounted on goodly steeds, hung upon their rear for several miles, harassing them exceedingly with guesses and questions, more especially the worthy Peter, whose silver-chased leg excited not a little marvel. At another place, hard by the renowned town of Stamford, they were set upon by a great and mighty legion of church deacons, who imperiously demanded of them five shillings, for travelling on Sunday, and threatened to carry them captive to a neighbouring church, whose steeple peered above the trees ; but these the valiant Peter put to rout with little difficulty, insomuch that they bestrode their canes and galloped off in horrible confusion, leaving
* Now called Blooming Dale, about four miles from New- York.
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their cocked hats behind in the hurry of their flight. But not so easily did he escape from the hands of a crafty man of Piquag; who, with undaunted perse- verance, and repeated onsets, fairly bargained him out of his goodly switch-tailed charger, leaving in place thereof a villanous foundered Narraganset pacer.
But, maugre all these hardships, they pursued their journey cheerily along the course of the soft flowing Connecticut, whose gentle wave, says the song, roll through many a fertile vale and sunny plain ; now reflecting the lofty spires of the bustling city, and now the rural beauties of the humble hamlet ; now echoing with the busy hum of commerce, and now with the cheerful song of the peasant.
At every town would Peter Stuyvesant, who was noted for warlike punctilio, order the sturdy Antony to sound a courteous salutation ; though the manu- script observes, that the inhabitants were thrown into great dismay when they heard of his approach. For the fame of his incomparable achievements on the Delaware had spread throughout the east coun- try, and they dreaded lest he had come to take ven- geance on their manifold transgressions.
But the good Peter rode through these towns with a smiling aspect; waving his hand with inexpressible majesty and condescension ; for he verily believed that the old clothes which these ingenious people had thrust into their broken windows, and the fes- toons of dried apples and peaches which ornamented the fronts of their houses, were so many decorations
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in honour of his approach; as it was the custom, in the days of chivalry, to compliment renowned heroes, by sumptuous displays of tapestry and gorgeous fur- niture. The women crowded to the doors to gaze upon him as he passed, so much does prowess in arms delight the gentle sex. The little children too, ran after him in troops, staring with wonder at his regimentals, his brimstone breeches, and the silver garniture of his wooden leg. Nor must I omit to mention the joy which many strapping wenches be- trayed at beholding the jovial Van Corlear, who had whilom delighted them so much with his trumpet, when he bore the great Peter's challenge to the Am- phyctions. The kind-hearted Antony alighted from his calico mare, and kissed them all with infinite loving kindness-and was right pleased to see a crew of little trumpeters crowding around him for his blessing ; each of whom he patted on the head, bade him be a good boy, and gave him a penny to buy molasses candy.
The Stuyvesant manuscript makes but little farther mention of the governor's adventures upon this expe- dition, excepting that he was received with extrava- gant courtesy and respect by the great council of the Amphyctions, who almost talked him to death with complimentary and congratulatory harangues. I will not detain my readers by dwelling on his negotiations with the grand council. Suffice it to mention, it was like all other negotiations-a great deal was said, and very little done : one conversation led to another- one conference begat misunderstandings which it took
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a dozen conferences to explain ; at the end of which, the parties found themselves just where they were at first ; excepting that they had entangled themselves in a host of questions of etiquette, and conceived a cordial distrust of each other, that rendered their fu- ture negotiations ten times more difficult than ever .*
In the midst of all these perplexities, which be- wildered the brain and incensed the ire of the sturdy Peter, who was perhaps of all men in the world, least fitted for diplomatic wiles, he privately received the first intimation of the dark conspiracy which had been matured in the Cabinet of England. To this was added the astounding intelligence that a hostile squadron had already sailed from England, destined to reduce the province of New-Netherlands, and that the grand council of Amphyctions had engaged to co- operate, by sending a great army to invade New- Amsterdam by land.
Unfortunate Peter ! did I not enter with sad fore- boding upon this ill-starred expedition ? did I not tremble when I saw thee, with no other counsellor but thine own head, with no other armour but an honest tongue, a spotless conscience, and a rusty sword ! with no other protector but St. Nicholas- and no other attendant but a trumpeter-did I not tremble when I beheld thee thus sally forth to con- tend with all the knowing powers of New-England !
* For certain of the particulars of this ancient negotiation see Haz. Col. State Papers. It is singular that Smith is en- tirely silent with respect to this memorable expedition of Peter Stuyvesant.
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Oh, how did the sturdy old warrior rage and roar, when he found himself thus entrapped, like a lion in the hunter's toil ! Now did he determine to draw his trusty sword, and manfully to fight his way through all the countries of the east. Now did he resolve to break in upon the council of the Amphyctions, and put cvery mother's son of them to death. At length, as his direful wrath subsided, he resorted to safer though less glorious expedients.
Concealing from the council his knowledge of their machinations, he privately despatched a trusty messenger, with missives to his counsellors at New- Amsterdam, apprising them of the impending danger, commanding them immediately to put the city in a posture of defence, while in the mean time he would endeavour to elude his enemies and come to their as- sistance. This done, he felt himself marvellously re- lieved, rose slowly, shook himself like a rhinoceros, and issued forth from his den, in much the same manner as Giant Despair is described to have issued. from Doubting Castle, in the chivalric history of the Pilgrim's Progress.
And now, much does it grieve me that I must leave the gallant Peter in this imminent jeopardy : but it behoves us to hurry back and see what is go- ing on at New-Amsterdam, for greatly do I fear that city is already in a turmoil. Such was ever the fate of Peter Stuyvesant; while doing one thing with heart and soul, he was too apt to leave every thing else at sixes and sevens. While, like a potentate of yore, he was absent, attending to those things in per-
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son, which in modern days are trusted to generals and ambassadors, his little territory at home was sure to get in an uproar-All which was owing to that uncommon strength of intellect which induced him to trust to nobody but himself, and which had ac- . quired him the renowned appellation of Peter the Headstrong.
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CHAPTER IV.
How the people of New-Amsterdam were thrown into a great panic, by the news of a threatened invasion, and the manner in which they fortified themselves.
THERE is no sight more truly interesting to a phi- losopher, than to contemplate a community, where every individual has a voice in public affairs, where every individual thinks himself the Atlas of the na- tion, and where every individual thinks it his duty to bestir himself for the good of his country-I say, there is nothing more interesting to a philosopher, than to see such a community in a sudden bustle of war. Such a clamour of tongues-such a bawling of patriotism-such running hither and thither-every
body in a hurry-every body up to the ears in trouble -every body in the way, and every body interrupt- ing his industrious neighbour -- who is busily employ- ed in doing nothing ! It is like witnessing a great fire, where every man is at work like a hero-some drag- ging about empty engines-others scampering with full buckets, and spilling the contents into the boots of their neighbours-and others ringing the church bells all night, by way of putting out the fire. Little firemen, like sturdy little knights storming a breach, clambering up and down scaling ladders, and bawl- ing through tin trumpets, by way of directing the VOL. II.
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attack-Here one busy fellow, in his great zeal to save the property of the unfortunate, catches up au anonymous chamber utensil, and gallants it off with an air of as much self-importance, as if he had res- cued a pot of money-another throws looking-glasses and china out of the window, to save them from the flames, whilst those who can do nothing else, to as. sist the great calamity, run up and down the streets with open throats, keeping up an incessant cry of Fire ! Fire ! Fire !
"When the news arrived at Sinope," says the grave and profound Lucian-though I own the story is rather trite, " that Philip was about to attack them, the inhabitants were thrown into violent alarm. Some ran to furbish up their arms; others rolled stones to build up the walls-every body, in short, was employed, and every body was in the way of his neighbour. Diogenes alone was the only man who could find nothing to do-whereupon, deter- mining not to be idle when the welfare of his coun- try was at stake, he tucked up his robe, and fell to rolling his tub with might and main up and down the Gymnasium." In like manner did every mother's son, in the patriotic community of New-Amsterdam on receiving the missives of Peter Stuyvesant, busy himself most mightily in putting things in confusion, and assisting the general uproar. "Every man"- saith the Stuyvesant manuscript -- " flew to arms !" --- by which is meant, that not one of our honest Dutch citizens would venture to church or to market, with- out an old-fashioned spit of a sword dangling at his
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side, and a long Dutch fowling-piece on his shoulder -- nor would he go out of a night without a lantern; nor turn a corner without first peeping cautiously round, lest he should come unawares upon a British army-And we are informed that Stoffel Brinkerhoff, who was considered by the old women almost as brave a man as the governor himself-actually had two one-pound swivels mounted in his entry, one pointing out at the front door, and the other at the back.
But the most strenuous measure resorted to on this awful occasion, and one which has since been found of wonderful efficacy, was to assemble popu- lar meetings. These brawling convocations, I have already shown, were extremely offensive to Peter Stuyvesant, but as this was a moment of unusual agitation, and as the old governor was not present to repress them, they broke out with intolerable vio- lence. Hither, therefore, the orators and politicians repaired, and there seemed to be a competition among thiem who should bawl the loudest, and exceed the others in hyperbolical bursts of patriotism, and in resolutions to uphold and defend the government. In these sage and all-powerful meetings, it was de- termined, nem. con. that they were the most enlight- ened, the most dignified, the most formidable, and the most ancient community upon the face of the earth. Finding that this resolution was so univer- sally and readily carried, another was immediately proposed-whether it were not possible and politic to exterminate Great Britain ? upon which sixty-nine
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