University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER VII.

It was asserted by the wise men of
ancient times, who were intimately acquainted
with these matters, that at the
gate of Jupiter's palace lay two huge
tuns, the one filled with blessings, the
other with misfortunes—and it verily
seems as if the latter had been completely
overturned, and left to deluge the unlucky
province of Nieuw Nederlandts. Among
the many internal and external causes of
irritation, the incessant irruptions of the
Yankees upon his frontiers were continually
adding fuel to the inflammable
temper of William the Testy. Numerous
accounts of these molestations may still
be found among the records of the times;
for the commanders on the frontiers were
especially careful to evince their vigilance
and zeal, by striving who should send
home the most frequent and voluminous
budgets of complaints, as your faithful
servant is eternally running with complaints
to the parlour, of the petty squabbles
and misdemeanours of the kitchen.

Far be it from me to insinuate, however,
that our worthy ancestors indulged
in groundless alarms; on the contrary,
they were daily suffering a repetition of
cruel wrongs, not one of which but was
a sufficient reason, according to the maxims
of national dignity and honour, for
throwing the whole universe into hostility
and confusion. From among a multitude
of bitter grievances still on record, I select
a few of the most atrocious, and leave
my readers to judge if our ancestors were
not justifiable in getting into a very valiant
passion on the occasion.

"24 June, 1641. Some of Hartford
have taken a hogg out of the vlact or
common, and shut it up out of meer hate
or other prejudice, causing it to starve for
hunger in the stye!

"26 July. The foremencioned English
did againe drive the Companie's hoggs
out of the vlact of Sicojoke into Hartford;
contending daily with reproaches, blows,
beating the people with all disgrace that
they could imagine.

"May 20, 1642. The English of
Hartford have violently cut loose a horse
of the honoured Companie's, that stood
bound upon the common or vlact.

"May 9, 1643. The Companie's horses
pastured upon the Companie's ground
were driven away by them of Connecticott
or Hartford, and the herdsmen lustily
beaten with hatchets and sticks.

"16. Again they sold a young hogg
belonging to the Companie, which pigg
had pastured on the Companie's land."[38]

Oh ye powers! into what indignation
did every one of these outrages throw the
philosophic William! letter after letter,
protest after protest, proclamation after
proclamation, bad Latin, worse English,
and hideous low Dutch, were exhausted
in vain upon the inexorable Yankees; and
the four-and-twenty letters of the alphabet,
which, excepting his champion, the
sturdy trumpeter Van Corlear, composed
the only standing army he had at his
command, were never off duty throughout
the whole of his administration.—Nor
was Anthony, the trumpeter, a whit behind
his patron in fiery zeal; but, like a
faithful champion of the public safety, on
the arrival of every fresh article