mind, he drove the young fry of blacks, who thronged the door, into the
house, closing all after him with singular and scrupulous care. How far
the presentiment of the black was warranted by the event, will be seen in
the course of the narrative.

The wide avenue, in which Oloff Van Staats dwelt, was but a few hundred
yards in length. It terminated, at one end, with the fortress; and at the
other, it was crossed by a high stockade, which bore the name of the city
walls; a defence that was provided against any sudden irruption of the
Indians, who then hunted, and even dwelt in some numbers, in the lower
counties of the colony.

It requires great familiarity with the growth of the town, to recognize,
in this description, the noble street that now runs for a league through
the centre of the island. From this avenue, which was then, as it is
still, called the Broadway, our adventurers descended into a lower quarter
of the town, holding free converse by the way.

"That Cupid is a negro to keep the roof on a house, in its master's
absence, Patroon," observed the Alderman, soon after they had left the
stoop. "He looks like a padlock, and one might sleep, without a dream,
with such a guardian near his dwelling. I wish I had brought the honest
fellow the key of my stable!"

"I have heard my father say, that the keys of his own were always better
near his own pillow," coolly returned the proprietor of a hundred thousand
acres.

"Ah, the curse of Cain! It is needless to look for the fur of a marten on
the back of a cat. But, Mr. Van Staats, while walking to your door this