Wild rivulet of wood and glen!
May thy glad laughter, sweet and low,
Long, long outlive the sighs of men.

_S. H. Thayer._

* * *

[Illustration: SLEEPY HOLLOW CHURCH.]

=Sleepy Hollow.=--The Old Dutch Church, the oldest on the Hudson, is
about one-half mile north from Tarrytown.

It was built by "Frederick Filipse and his wife Katrina Van Cortland
in 1690." The material is partly of stone and partly of brick brought
from Holland. It stands as an appropriate sentinel near the entrance
to the burial-yard where Irving sleeps. After entering the gate our
way leads past the graves of the Ackers, the Van Tassels, and the Van
Warts, with inscriptions and plump Dutch cherubs on every side
that often delighted the heart of Diedrich Knickerbocker. How many
worshippers since that November day in 1859, have come hither with
reverent footsteps to read on the plain slab this simple inscription:
"Washington Irving, born April 3, 1783. Died November 28, 1859," and
recall Longfellow's beautiful lines:

"Here lies the gentle humorist, who died
In the bright Indian Summer of his fame.
A simple stone, with but a date and name,
Marks his secluded resting place beside
The river that he loved and glorified.