Melancholy presages—Turbulence of the people.
THE conversations between my father and aunt assumed a melancholy cast.
Their hopes of a golden age in that country, (now that the flames of war
were entirely quenched,) grew weaker. The repeal of the stamp act,
occasioned excessive joy, but produced little gratitude. The youth of
the town, before that news arrived, had abandoned their wonted sports,
and began to amuse themselves with breaking the windows and destroying
the furniture of two or three different people, who had, in succession,
been suspected of being stamp-masters in embryo. My father grew fonder
than ever of fishing and shooting, because birds and fish did not talk
of tyranny or taxes. Sometimes we were refreshed by a visit from some of
aunt’s nephews, the sons of the mayor. They always left us in great good
humour, for they spoke respectfully of our dear king, and dearer
country. But this sunshine was transient; they were soon succeeded by
Obadiah or Zephaniah, from Hampshire or Connecticut, who came in without
knocking; sat down without invitation; and lighted their pipes without
ceremony; then talked of buying land; and finally, began a discourse on
politics, which would have done honour to Praise God Barebones, or any
of the members of his parliament. What is very singular is, that though
the plain spoken and manly natives of our settlement had a general
dislike to the character of these litigious and loquacious pretenders,
such are the inconsistencies into which people are led by party, that
they insensibly adopted many of their notions. With madame I was quite
free from this plague. None of that chosen race ever entered her door.
She valued time too much to devote it to a set of people whom she
considered as greatly wanting in sincerity. I speak now of the Hampshire
and Connecticut people. In towns and at sea-ports the old leaven had
given way to that liberality which was produced by a better education,
and an intercourse with strangers. Much as aunt’s loyal and patriotic
feelings were hurt by the new mode of talking which prevailed, her
benevolence was not cooled, nor her mode of living changed.
I continued to grow in favour with aunt this winter, for the best
possible reasons; I was the only one of the family that would sit still
with her. The young people in the house were by no means congenial with
her; and each had a love affair in hand, fast ripening into matrimony,
that took up all their thoughts. Mr. H. our chaplain, was plausible, but
superficial, vain, and ambitious. He, too, was busied in hatching a
project of another kind. On pretence of study, he soon retired to his
room after meals, dreading, no doubt, that aunt might be in possession
of Ithuriel’s spear, or to speak without a figure, might either fathom
his shallowness, or detect his project. One of these discoveries he knew
would sink him in her opinion, and the other exclude him from her house.
For my part, I was always puzzling myself to consider why I did not more
love and reverence Mr. H. who I took it for granted must needs be good,
wise, and learned; for I thought a clergyman was all but inspired. Thus
thinking, I wondered why I did not feel for Mr. H. what I felt for aunt
in some degree; but unfortunately, Mr. H. was a true bred native of
Connecticut, which, perhaps, helped more than any intuitive penetration
into character, to prevent any excess of veneration. Aunt and I read
Burnet’s memoirs and some biography this winter, and talked at least
over much geography and natural history. Here, indeed, I was in some
degree obliged to Mr. H. I mean for a few lessons on the globe. He had,
too, an edition of Shakspeare. I have been trying, but in vain, to
recollect what aunt said of this. Not much, certainly; but she was much
pleased with the Essay on Man, &c. Yet I somehow understood that
Shakspeare was an admired author, and was not a little mortified when I
found myself unable to appreciate his merits. I suppose my taste had
been vitiated by bombast tragedies I had read at Colonel E’s. I thought
them grossly familiar, and very inferior to Cato, whom aunt had taught
me to admire; in short, I was ignorant, and because I could read Milton,
did not know my own ignorance. I did not expect to meet nature in a
play, and therefore did not recognise her. It is not to be conceived how
I puzzled over Hamlet, or how his assumed madness and abuse of Ophelia
confounded me. Othello’s jealousy, and the manner in which he expressed
it, were quite beyond my comprehension.
I mention these things as a warning to other young people not to admire
by rote, but to wait the unfolding of their own taste, if they would
derive real pleasure from the works of genius. I rather imagine I was
afraid aunt would think I devoted too much time to what I then
considered as a trifling book. For I remember reading Hamlet the third
or fourth time, in a frosty night, by moonlight, in the back porch.
This, reiterated perusal was not in consequence of any great pleasure it
afforded me; but I was studiously labouring to discover the excellence I
thought it must needs contain, yet with more diligence than success.
Madame was at this time, I imagine, foreseeing a storm, and trying to
withdraw her mind as much as possible from earthly objects.
Forty years before this period, a sister of the deceased colonel had
married a very worthy man by the name of Wendell. He being a person of
an active, enterprising disposition, and possessing more portable wealth
than usually fell to the share of the natives there, was induced to join
some great commercial company near Boston, and settled there. He was
highly prosperous, and much beloved, and for a while cultivated a
constant commerce with the friends he left behind. When he died,
however, his wife, who was a meek, benevolent woman, without distrust,
and a stranger to business, was very ill treated. Her sons, who had been
married in the country, died. Their connexions secured the family
property for their children. In the primitive days of New-York, a
marriage settlement was an unheard-of thing. Far from her native home,
having outlived her friends, helpless and uncomplaining, this good
woman, who had lived all her days in the midst of deserved affluence and
affection, was now stripped by chicanery of all her rights, and sinking
into poverty without a friend or comforter. Aunt immediately upon
hearing this, set on foot a negotiation to get Mrs. Wendell’s affairs
regulated, so that she might have the means of living with comfort in a
country in which long residence had naturalized her; or that failing, to
bring her home to reside with herself. Perhaps in the whole course of
her life she had not experienced so much of the depravity of human
nature, as this inquiry unfolded to her. The negotiation, however,
cheered and busied her at a time when she greatly needed some exertion
of mind to check the current of thought produced by the rapid and
astonishing change of manners and sentiments around her. But in our
province there were two classes of people who absolutely seemed let
loose by the demon of discord, for the destruction of public peace and
private confidence. One of these was composed of lawyers, who multiplied
so fast that one would think they rose like mushrooms from the earth.
For many years one lawyer was sufficient for the whole settlement. But
the swarm of these, which had made so sudden and portentous an
appearance, had been encouraged to choose that profession, because a
wide field was open for future contention, merely from the candour and
simplicity of the last generation.
Not in the least distrusting each other, nor aware of the sudden rise of
the value of lands, these primitive colonists got large grants from
government, to encourage their efforts in the early stages of
cultivation; these lands being first purchased, for some petty
consideration, from the Indians, who alone knew the land-marks of that
illimitable forest.
The boundaries of such large grants, when afterwards confirmed by
government, were distinguished by the terms used by the Indians, who
pointed them out; and very extraordinary marks they were. For instance,
one that I recollect. “We exchange with our brother Cornelius
Rensselear, for so many strouds, guns, &c. the lands beginning at the
beaver creek, going on northward, to the great fallen plane tree, where
our tribe slept last summer; then eastward, to the three great cedars on
the hillock; then westward, strait to the wild duck swamp; and strait on
from the swamp to the turn in the beaver creek where the old dam was.”
Such are the boundaries, seriously described in this manner, in one of
the earliest patents. The only mode, then existing, of fixing these
vague limits was to mark large trees which grew at the corners of the
property, with the owner’s name deeply cut, along with the date of the
patent, &c. after blazing, that is to say, cutting deeply into the tree,
for a plain space to hold this inscription.
In this primitive manner were all the estates in the province bounded.
Towards the sea this did very well, as the patents in a manner, bounded
each other; and every one took care to prevent the encroachments of his
neighbour. But in the interior, people took great stretches of land here
and there, where there were not patented lands adjoining; there being no
continuity of fertile ground, except on the banks of streams. The only
security the public had against these trees being cut down, or others at
a greater distance marked in their stead, was a law which made such
attempts penal. This was a very nugatory threat; it being impossible to
prove such an offence. Crimes of this nature, encroaching on the
property of individuals, I believe, rarely happened; but to enlarge
one’s boundary, by taking in a little of king George’s ground, to use a
provincial phrase, was considered as no great harm; and, besides, many
possessed extensive tracts of land unquestioned, merely on the strength
of Indian grants, unsanctioned by government. One in particular, the
proudest man I ever knew, had a law-suit with the king, for more land
than would form a German principality. Now that the inundation of
litigious new settlers, from Massachusetts’ bounds, had awakened the
spirit of inquiry, to call it no worse, every day produced a fresh
law-suit, and all of the same nature, about ascertaining boundaries. In
one instance, where a gentleman was supposed to be unfairly possessed of
a vast tract of fine land, a confederacy of British officers, I must
confess, questioned his right; applying before hand for a grant of such
lands as they could prove the possessor entitled to; and contributing
among them a sum of money to carry on this great law-suit, which having
been given against them in the province, they appealed to the Board of
Trade and Plantations at home. Here the uncertainty of the law was very
glorious indeed; and hence, from the gainful prospect opening before
them, swarms of petulant, half-educated young men, started one knew not
whence. And as these great law-suits were matter of general concern, no
one knowing whose turn might be next, all conversation begun to be
infected with litigious cant; and every thing seemed unstable and
perplexed.
-------