Chapter 1

And though amidst the calm of thought entire,
Some high and haughty features might betray
A soul impetuous once--'twas earthly fire
That fled composure's intellectual ray,
As Etna's fires grow dim before the rising day.
--Gertrude of Wyoming.

It was near the close of the year 1780 that a solitary traveler was seen
pursuing his way through one of the numerous little valleys of
Westchester. [Footnote: As each state of the American Union has its own
counties, it often happens that there are several which bear the same
name. The scene of this tale is in New York, whose county of Westchester
is the nearest adjoining to the city.] The easterly wind, with its
chilling dampness and increasing violence, gave unerring notice of the
approach of a storm, which, as usual, might be expected to continue for
several days; and the experienced eye of the traveler was turned in
vain, through the darkness of the evening, in quest of some convenient
shelter, in which, for the term of his confinement by the rain that
already began to mix with the atmosphere in a thick mist, he might
obtain such accommodations as his purposes required. Nothing whatever
offered but the small and inconvenient tenements of the lower order of
the inhabitants, with whom, in that immediate neighborhood, he did not
think it either safe or politic to trust himself.

The county of Westchester, after the British had obtained possession of
the island of New York, [Footnote: The city of New York is situated on
an island called Manhattan: but it is at one point separated from the
county of Westchester by a creek of only a few feet in width. The bridge
at this spot is called King's Bridge. It was the scene of many
skirmishes during the war, and is alluded to in this tale. Every
Manhattanese knows the difference between "Manhattan Island" and the
"island of Manhattan." The first is applied to a small District in the
vicinity of Corlaer's Hook, while the last embraces the Whole island; or
the city and county of New York as it is termed in the laws.] became
common ground, in which both parties continued to act for the remainder
of the war of the Revolution. A large proportion of its inhabitants,
either restrained by their attachments, or influenced by their fears,
affected a neutrality they did not feel. The lower towns were, of
course, more particularly under the dominion of the crown, while the
upper, finding a security from the vicinity of the continental troops,
were bold in asserting their revolutionary opinions, and their right to
govern themselves. Great numbers, however, wore masks, which even to
this day have not been thrown aside; and many an individual has gone
down to the tomb, stigmatized as a foe to the rights of his