CHAP. VII.

How the City of New-Amsterdam waxed great, under the protection of Oloffe the Dreamer.

THERE is fomething exceedingly delufive in thus looking back, through the long vista of departed years, and catching a glimpse of the fairy realms of antiquity that lie beyond. Like fome goodly landscape melting into distance, they receive a thousand charms from their very obscurity, and the fancy delights to fill up their outlines with graces and excellencies of its own creation. Thus beam on my imagination those happier days of our city, when as yet New-Amsterdam was a mere pastoral town, shrouded in groves of Sycamore and Willows, and furrounded by trackless forefts and wide spreading waters, that seemed to shut out all the cares and vanities of a wicked world.

In those days did this embryo city present the rare and noble spectacle of a community governed without laws; and thus being left to its own courfe, and the fostering care of providence, increased as rapidly as though it had been burthened with a dozen panniers full of those fage laws that are usually heaped on the backs of young cities-in order to make them grow. And in this particular I greatly admire the wisdom and found knowledge of human nature, difplayed by the fage Oloffe the Dreamer, and his fellow

legiflators. For my part I have not fo bad an opinion of mankind as many of my brother philofophers. I do not think poor human nature so forry a piece of workmanship as they would make it out to be; and as far as I have obferved, I am fully fatisfied that man, if left to himself, would about as readily go right as wrong. It is only this eternally founding in his ears that it is his duty to go right, that makes him go the very reverfe. The noble independence of his nature revolts at this intolerable tyranny of law, and the perpetual interference of officious morality, which is ever besetting his path with finger pofts and directions to "keep to the right, as the law directs;" and like a fpirited urchin, he turns directly contrary, and gallops through mud and mire, over hedges and ditches, merely to fhow that he is a lad of fpirit, and out of his leading ftrings. And these opinions are amply substantiated by what I have above said of our worthy ancestors; who never being be-preached and be-lectured, and guided and governed by ftatutes and laws and bye-laws, as are their more enlightened defcend ants, did one and all demean themselves honestly and peaceably, out of pure ignorance, or in other words→→ because they knew no better.

Nor muft I omit to record, one of the earliest meafures of this infant fettlement, inasmuch as it fhews the piety of our forfathers, and that, like good chris. tians, they were always ready to ferve God, after they had firft ferved themfelves. Thus, having qui

etly fettled themselves down, and provided for their own comfort, they bethought themselves of testifying their gratitude to the great and good St. Nicholas, for his protecting care, in guiding them to this delectable abode. To this end they built a fair and goodly chapel within the fort, which they confecrated to his name; whereupon he immediately took the town of New-Amfterdam, under his peculiar patronage, and he has even fince been, and I devoutly hope will ever be, the tutelar faint of this excellent city.

I am moreover told that there is a little legendary book, fomewhere extant, written in low Dutch, which fays, that the image of this renowned faint, which whilome graced the bowfprit of the Goede Vrouw, was elevated in front of this chapel, in the very centre of what, in modern days, is called the Bowling Green. And the legend further treats of divers miracles wrought by the mighty pipe, which the faint held in his mouth; a whiff of which was a fovereign cure for an indigestion-an invaluable relique in this colony of brave trenchermen. As, however, in fpite of the most diligent fearch, I cannot lay my hands upon this little book, I must confefs that I entertain confiderable doubt on the subject.

Thus benignly fostered by the good St. Nicholas, the burghers of New-Amfterdam beheld their fettlement increase in magnitude and population, and foon become the metropolis of divers fettlements and an extensive territory. Already had the disastrous pride

of colonies and dependencies, thofe banes of a found hearted empire, entered into their imaginations; and Fort Aurania on the Hudson, Fort Naffau on the Delaware, and Fort Goede Hoep on the Connecticut river, seemed to be the darling offspring of the venerable council. Thus profperously, to all appearance, did the province of New-Netherlands advance in power; and the early history of its metropolis, prefents a fair page, unfullied by crime or calamity.

Hordes of painted favages still lurked about the tangled forefts and rich bottoms of the unfettled part of the Island-the hunter, pitched his rude bower of skins and bark beside the rills that ran through the cool and shady glens, while here and there might be seen on some funny knoll, a group of Indian wigwams, whose smoke arose above the neighbouring trees and floated in the transparent atmosphere. By degrees a mutual goodwill had grown up, between these wandering beings and the burghers of New-Amfterdam. Our benevolent forefathers endeavoured as much as

*The province, about this time, extended on the north to Fort Aurania, or Orange (now the city of Albany) situated about 160 miles up the Hudson river. Indeed the province claimed quite to the river St. Lawrence; but this claim was not much insisted on at the time, as the country beyond Fort Aurania was a perfect wilderness, On the south the province reached to Fort Nassau, on the south river, since called the Delaware-and on the east it extended to the Varshe (or fresh) river, now the Connecticut. On this last frontier was likewise erected a Fort and trading house, much about the spot where at present is situated the pleasant town of Hartford. This was called Fort Goed Hoep, (or Good Hope) and was intended as well for the purpose of trade, as of defence.

poffible to ameliorate their fituation, by giving them gin, rum, and glafs beads, in exchange for their peltries; for it seems the kind hearted Dutchmen had conceived a great friendship for their favage neighbours, on account of their being pleasant men to trade with, and little skilled in the art of making a bargain.

It

Now and then a crew of these half human fons of the foreft would make their appearance in the streets of New-Amfterdam, fantastically painted and decorated with beads and flaunting feathers, fauntering about with an air of liftlefs indifference-fometimes in the market-place, inftructing the little Dutch boys in the ufe of the bow and arrow-at other times, inflamed with liquor, fwaggering and whooping and yelling about the town like fo many fiends, to the great dismay of all the good wives, who would hurry their children into the house, fasten the doors, and throw water upon the enemy from the garret windows. is worthy of mention here, that our forefathers were very particular in holding up these wild men as excellent domeftic examples-and for reasons that may be gathered from the history of mafter Ogilvie, who tells us, that "for the leaft offence the bridegroom foundly beats his wife and turns her out of doors, and marries another, infomuch that fome of them have every year a new wife.” Whether this awful example had any influence or not, history does not mention; but it is certain that our grandmothers were miracles of fidelity and obedience.