University of Virginia Library

2. CHAPTER II.
THE SURRENDER AND POSSESSION.

Upon approaching the gate Logan saw,
to his surprise, that it had been closed
from within during his conversation with
Jacob Leisler. The suspicion that it
might have been done purposely by some
traitors flashed upon his mind. But he
resolved to ascertain without betraying
his suspicions, and striking upon the
gate, he cried,

`Come, my masters, open and admit
me. Don't you see my interview is
ended?'

`Aye, we see that, Captain Robert,'
responded a man showing his face at a
little slide four inches square which he
opened at the side of the door; `we see
that your interview has ended, and so has
your command here!'

`How so, fellow?' he demanded, turning
pale. `What means this jest? Open,
Sergeant Graff, and let me in!'

`No, no, master. We know when we
are wise! We have no notion of bein'
cooped up here to be besieged, and by
and by starved to death or hung. We
serve the king whoever he is. It is from
the crown's purse that our pay and the
money comes that buys our rations. So
we have resolved, seeing we have you on
the outside, to keep you there and give
up the fort. Come, comrades, let us
shout for William and Mary!'

A loud huzza rose from the bosom of
the fortress in answer to his call. Thrice
it rent the air, and then three pieces of
cannon were discharged by some of the
more enthusiastic of the soldiers, the reverberation
shaking the town. Fortunately
they were elevated so that the shot
passed high above the heads of the crowd
and did no mischief save among the trees
in the woods north of the city.

The people, who were too far off to
know the reason of the shouting, and yet
believing that it was for William and
Mary, and hearing the shot roar above
their heads were thrown into the wildest
confusion; a part rushing towards the
fort with cries of vengeance, others flying
into the side streets to escape the effects
of any further shot from this summary
cannonading.

Jacob Leisler had not got so far from
the gate of the fort after he parted from
Logan but that he distinctly heard and
understood all that passed between him
and the sergeant.. He stopped, therefore,
with surprise, to await the issne; and it
was with no little joy that he witnessed
the firm resolution of the stout man at
arms to refuse admittance to his unqualified
commander. As the shouts and
hurrahs burst upon the air his heart leaped
with joyful emotion, and his three-cornered
hat waved in the air with zeal.

Looking at Logan he saw that he stood
by the gate amazed, yet with a look of
determined courage. He was advancing
towards him when the discharge of the

cannon from the embrasures directly
above his head and the shouts of alarm
and rage from the people on the green
arrested him. He caught the meaning
of their words as they came down upon
the fort with brandished arms and cries
of revenge.

For an instant he hesitated whether to
follow his original intention of arresting
Logan or turn back the multitude. But
as he saw them close at hand, and fearing
the worst from their misconception
of the state of things he hastened towards
them, gesticulating and calling to them.

`Hold, citizens! You are in error!
The shouts and firing were for William
and Mary! The fort has surrendered!'

These words were comprehended by
the persons in advance of their fellows,
who checked their course, repeating them
to those behind till the whole mass echoed
the cry and came to a full stand. Jacob
Leisler who stood elevated upon the low
glacis in front of the fort, so that he could
see over their heads, made a sign that he
wished to be heard. A deep silence followed
the late uproar, like a calm after
the hoarse howling of the tempestuous
sea.

`Citizens, the firing and shouts which
you fancied were hostile were for the
crown. The guns were unfortunately
shotted, but no mischief, I trust, has been
done. The fort has submitted to a man
voluntarily; for while I was listening to
terms from Robert Logan, as you saw,
they closed the gate upon him and refused
to admit him again; and to show
their sincerity, they shouted for the
Prince. Now, my friends, we will take
quiet possession of the fort, letting such
of the soldiers remain as see fit; the rest
shall be deprived of their arms and follow
such civil pursuits as they shall
choose. We will select from our number
fifty good men and true, and with
them man and maintain the citadel. We
will then be guided as wisdom and prudence
dictate, as to the further disposition
of the government, until a commissioned
governor arrives from England
with full authority.'

This address was received by the multitude
with decided approbation. A mah
who had been in the rear now forced
himself in advance and called out,

`True ant honest protestants, which
are, I doubt not all ov you who hear me,
you have heard our goot Mynheer Jacop
Leslier what he haf said. You shout that
what he says is goot! Now I make a motion
tat we gif him te commands ov te
fort wit fifty mens to keep it.

`We could not have better mens,' resounded
a large number of voices. `We
will have Jacob Leisler to be our captain
general.'

`Our governor!' shouted a little Slems
Van Vow, who had before spoken; `he
should pe our governor! we cannot have
a petter.'

`No, no!' answered Jacob Leisler,
completely taken by surprise. `No, no,
good friends; I cannot be your governor;
I am willing to take the fort with fifty
citizens and keep it for the governor that
shall be sent, and so protect it from the
hands of the papists, who, if they should
get it into their possession, may do us a
mischief. If fifty brave men will now
come out from among you, I will readily
take possession of the fort, letting the
soldiers who have so freely surrendered
it go their own way.'

`With the exception of catholics!' called
out the fat young burgomaster.

`Aye, aye, let no catholic go free,' was
the response of the mass of the people.

`I will do what is just and right,' answered
Leisler, who, in spite of himself
found himself most reluctantly assuming
a responsibility for which neither his mercantile
habits nor his energy of character
fitted him. Yet all men seemed, as by

one voice, to fix upon him as the only
man suited to take the lead in such an
emergency. Although, it did not occur
to him, at the moment, yet his accepting
the command of the fort and therefore of
the military force of the Province, was in
part assuming the government; for there
being no civil administration, he who
commanded the soldiery held the reins
of power. In fact, the moment he consented
to enter and hold the citadel, that
moment he was captain general of the
colony, at the head of a military government;
and a power, too, as truly without
authority as that which Robert Logan had
taken into his hands.

The fifty men, armed and ready to
obey, were soon chosen from the citizens
and drawn up by the merchant-soldier,
in front of the fortress. He now, for the
first time, bethought himself of Logan,
from whom his attention had been diverted
by the necessity of checking the advauce
of the infuriated populace.

But in the excitement of the moment
Logan, seeing the danger of his situation,
and aware that he had not a moment to
lose in providing for his personal safety,
glided round the angle of the tower within
which stood the gate, and darting into
the fosse followed it swiftly to its outlet
by the shore on the harbor side of the
fort. Here he was out of the sight of his
enemies whose voices, however, reached
his ears. There was a boat lying not far
from the mouth of the fosse which he
took possession of, and began to pull rapidly
out in the direction of the Swedish
ship, on board of which were both, the
governor and lieutenant governor.

But to his surprise, he had not pulled
but a few yards from the shore when he
saw the ship spread her sails and stand
down the harbour.

`They have heard the firing and shouting,
and the governor's fears have driven
him off. Well, let them go,' he said; `I
did not intend to sail with them, but only
remain on board till this excitement, that
has got these folks ashore by the ears,
subsides a little. No, no, I can't leave
the colony and leave in it the fair Bertha
Leisler. The ship sails bravely away!
I shall have nothing to do then but to
pull into some fisherman's cabin on one
of the islands, and there wait the turn
of affairs.'

He pulled steadily on, his face towards
the citadel, which was still partly enveloped
in the smoke from the cannon. At
intervals the shouts of the populace came
clearly across the water, for the air was
very light where he was, though in the
lower harbour the ship had a five knot
breeze.

The islands in the harbour of New-York,
were not then as at the present day,
cultivated and adorned with villas or public
edifices, Many of them were wooded,
and at a distance were mountainous
masses of foliage lifting themselves above
the waters of the bay. Some of them
were cleared here and there, showing
bright spots of verdure or patches of rich
brown loam, with a hut near the water.—
These were the dwelling places of fishermen;
who ran seaward every morning to
catch their fish, and returned before noon
to dispose of them, still fresh, in the market-place
of the town, and by night reaching
their island homes again.

Towards the north east shore of governor's
island Logan pulled his skiff,
which was a rude pirogue, constructed
from a hollow log, and such as was ordinarily
used by the fishermen of the islands.
When he first discovered it and
got into it he saw that it was one of their
boats, and strongly suspected that in taking
it, he was keeping the owner in town
for the day, or until he could get a passage
to the island where he dwelt in some
neighbor's canoe.

Leaving him to his fortunes for the

present, we return to Jacob Leisler, who
was not a little amazed and vexed to find
that the young man had taken advantage
of the confusion to make his escape.—
At first he thought he must have been admitted
into the fort; and advanced to the
gate to ascertain. But to his inquiry,
sergeant Graff replied that he knew not
he was from his position, he could not
see to the right and left of the entrance,
and besides, he had been, he said, too
much taken up with looking at the angry
people coming down upon them, as
if to massacre all in the fortress.

A search was made by looking this
way and that, and peeping into the fosse,
but he had escaped; and as the people
were clamorous for the gates to be opened,
Jacob Leisler gave up the attempt to
find him to place him under arrest, which
he wished to do to keep him from doing
his daughter a mischief; for his words
yet rang in his ears.

The gates were now thrown open to
Leisler and his fifty men, who marched
in and took formal possession of the fort
by hoisting the British flag and proclaiming
William of Orange King of Great
Britain, and the lawful ruler of the province
of New Amsterdam; for the Dutch
citizens gave this name to the colony,
while the English invariably gave that of
York, which, as well as the English population,
at length got the ascendancy
and held it.

Leisler now ranged the garrison, which
consisted of about one hall English soldiers
and the other half Dutch, around
the interior court-yard of the fort, and
took from them their arms and accoutrements,
which they gave up, save five
or six contumacious fellows, who, being
more papal than loyal, resisted the disarming
process, which at least twenty
more discreet Catholics had wisely and
quietly submitted to. They were, however,
not only disarmed, but bound and
thrown into a keeping-room on the left
of the gate, there to remain until they
were converted to Orangeism.

The process of disarming had hardly
got through, before a cry was raised that
the Roman Catholics in the city were
privately arming, with the intention of
retaking the fort. Upon hearing this,
Jacob Leisler, who now saw that he was
actually invested with the chief and only
power of the province, yet almost insensibly
as it were, forthwith took upon himself
the authority which every man looked
to him to assume. He at once, at the
suggestion of his proposed son-in-law,
sent a detachment of twenty-five men
from the fort, and commanded one hundred
others, who were outside, and who
had arms, to accompany them and traverse
every street of the town, and report
the state of things. At the head of this
detachment he placed the young burgomaster,
who wielded a sword full four
feet long; a weapon of two great magnitude
and weight for him to use, save to
inspire terror in his enemies, a ruse very
common with cowards, though we do
not wish the reader to infer that Mynheer
Slems Van Vow was a timid man.
Had he been a coward, he would hardly
have put himself at the head of this war
party. But when the reader is informed
that the young burgomaster was well
aware that there was no danger, the rumor
having been started by himself, on
his own account, that he might have an
opportunity not only of showing his patriotism,
but of exhibiting his military bravery
to the fair eyes of Bertha Leisler,
whose dwelling he resolved to pass in his
march. Slems well knew that he needed
some deed of valiance and mark to find
favor in her sweet blue eyes; for he was
not so dull that he could not comprehend,
though obscurely, that the maiden considered
him a very great bore. He had
had, indeed, for some time past, a hazy

notion that she did not think him an individual
very much entitled to respect,
notwithstanding he had been a burgomaster
and was worth money.

The detachment marched out of the
fortress with an African drummer at the
head of the column, playing a merry peal
upon the sheep-skin head of his kettledrum.
Slems marched up Broadway,
and turned down Wall street and into
Pearl, and down Maiden lane to the
corner of Water street, where he came to
a halt in front of a spacious mansion,
built of Dutch tiles, and bearing all the
the outward marks of an opulent proprietor.
This was the abode of Jacob Leisler,
the rich merchant, now, as if by magic,
elevated to the rule of the province.

Through the streets, thus far, no person
had been seen, save some women and
children, who fled at the spectacle. Not
a male was visible, save at the windows,
from which scowled many a Papist form
upon the military column. No where
were discoverable any signs of malcontent.
Surprise and dismay seemed to
have seized the Roman Catholic population
and deprived them of their courage
as well as of their political power. What
their Protestant suecessors were to decide
upon, none of them knew, and each
waited in painful suspense the rapid progress
of events.

What intelligence they got from the
scene of the movements of the party was
gleaned from lads and females who had
ventured as far as the Green, and returned
with exaggerated accounts of what
was passing. Among these, they were
paralyzed by one which declared that
every soldier in the fort had been massacred,
and Robert Logan hanged.

When, at length, the sound of the
drum and fife of the armed party of observation,
led by Slems Van Vow, fell
upon their ears, they apprehended the
worst; but when the burgomaster was
seen at their head, with his sleek cheeks
and capon belly, brandishing his enormous
sword, their fears were dissipated;
for all who knew Mynheer Slems Van
Vow, knew he had the bump of caution
too largely developed to trust himself
within the sphere of personal peril.

When Slems, after patrolling half the
town, reached the dwelling of the fair
Bertha, he halted his men, and forming
them before the house, stood in the front,
and taking his sword in both hands with
a stout grasp, waved it in token of
military homage to her beauty, at least
this was his idea.

The maiden was at the window, for
she had long been watching them with
repeated and anxious questioning of every
passer-by, touching her father's safety;
for with every rumor his name was
strangely mingled; but, whether for good
or evil to himself she could not comprehend.
And although the rattle of the
drum, as the armed men turned from
Nassau Street into Maiden Lane, startled
her, even more than the roar ef the cannon
a short time before, yet her apprehensions
were allayed by seeing her betrothed
burgomaster advancing at the
head of the column. A smile spread
over her face, which was increased to a
merry laugh as she saw with what an air
he marched, while yet it was with difficulty
he could carry his ponderous sword,
which seemed to gall his shoulder, but
which from its weight and length could
be borne in no other manner.

Several young and beautiful maidens,
but all less fair than she, were assembled
at her house, and were looking forth from
the window. When Slems gave his salute
Bertha, with a mischeivous laugh,
waved her handkerchief, and called upon
her companions to do the same.

`Welcome, brave burgomaster!' she
cried pleasantly, her eyes sparkling with

mirthfulness; `what is that thou holdest
so firmly in thy two hands?'

`A sword, divine Bertha.'

`It is a dangerous weapon, they say,
in the hands of children. Lest thou
shouldst harm thyself or the drummer
close behind thee, I would advise thee to
wear it in its scabbard.'

`Thou art very loving, sweet Bertha,'
responded Slems in good, simple faith,
`to think so much of my welfare. But
fear thee not, I shall be terrible with it
only to my enemies.'

`What is this great array of men in
arms with thee?' she asked seriously, her
momentary liveliness yielding to the graver
emotions natural at such an hour.

`I have been placed at their heads by
commands of thy honored father, who is
now chief rulers in the province. Hold
up thy heads, sweet Bertha, for thou art
highers than any maiden in the land!—
Verily, Jacobs Leislers is this days even
as a Kings among us, and you are a princess.
It is to do thee homages I have
led my mens in arrays before your dwellings.
Fare thee wells!'

`Where is my father? Are these rumors
true, that he has taken upon himself
the chief rulership of the province?'

`It is, sweet and adorables Berthas,'
responded Slems, waving his sword, or
rather attempting this feat, but with such
awkward success that he well nigh cut
off his own boot, to the great merriment
of the boys of the town, who were gazing
upon him with equal awe and ridicule.

`Then am I sorry, indeed,' said Bertha,
not heeding what at another moment
would have excited her merriment.
Her thoughts were upon her
father and his danger. She knew the
fearful responsibility of his position in a
province where the power of the Catholic
party, though subdued for the moment
was not annihilated. She seemed, with
prophetic eye, to foresee for him, in his
new career, evil and danger she dared
not let her mind rest upon.

`If you are sorrys, divinest and adorables,
the province rejoices. Your fathers
is the only mans to save us all.'

`Alas, he is not fitted for this station.
He has not the energy and firmness for
such a crisis. Oh, that I had been near
to have advised him.'

`He did not accept it, celestial eyes,'
answered Slems, bowing with gallantry
at every other word, `but it was thrust
upon him. He could not help it. But
it is a great honors to thee and him and
me! But I cannot delays here, thou
suns of my loves. These are times that
trys mens soul. The peace of the city
is committed to me, and I must see as
nones of the Papists do mischiefs.'

With these words Slems called on his
followers to march foward; and after parading
through the lower streets, they
once more entered Wall by the dock and
returned to the gate of the fort. Here
all was found comparatively quiet. Jacob
Leisler had addressed the people and
recommended them to retire peacably to
their several occupations, which many of
the more moderate of the towns-people
did do, but the more zealous and restless
hung about the fort, talking together and
advising many plans for ridding the town
of the Papists. But when the burgomaster
returned and reported that `not a Papists
dared shows his heads out of his
windows,' this feeling of vengeance,
which had quickened by fear of the Catholics,
subsided.

Jacob Leisler, who now saw himself
so unexpectedly invested with the supreme
power, began to act with that firmness
which his situation called for. He
appointed a suitable number of men for
the garrison, and over them placed a captain
and lieutenants, English born citizens,
who had seen service in Europe.
He did this to conciliate the English protestants,

who had already began to talk
loudly of Dutch monopoly in the new administration
of affairs. He also formed
from the people five companies, which
he armed from the arsenal of the citadel,
which were called `train-bands.' These
appointed their own captains and officers,
and were filled principally by volunteers.
The majority composing them were of
Dutch extraction. The duty of these
train-bands was to parade the streets,
guard the town, and overawe the Papists.