The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1873-10-04

And of gay castles ill the clouds tiInt pass,
For ever flushing round a summer sky.
CASTLE OF INCIDENCE.
In the bosom of one Of those spacious
coves which indent the eastern shores of
the Hudson, at that broad expansion of
the river denominated by the ancient Dutch
navigators the Tappan Zee, and where they
always prudently shortened sail, and i'm
plored the protection of St. Nicholas when
they crossed, there lies small market
town or rural port, which by some is call
ed Greensburgh, but which is more gener-
ally and properly known by the name of
larry Town. This name was given, we
are told, in former days, by the good
housewives of the adjacent country, from
the inveterate propensity of their husbands
to linger about the village tavern on mar
ket- days. Be that as it may, do not
vouch for the fact, but merely advert to il
for the sake of being precise and authentic
Not far from this village, perhaps about
two miles, there is a little valley, or rather
lap of land, among high hills, which is one
of the quietest places in the whole world.
A small brook glides through it, with just
murmur enough to lull one to repose; and
the occasional whistle of a quail, or tap
ping of woodpecker, is almost the only
sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform
tranquility.
l recollect that, when a STRIPPING, my
first exploit IN squirrel shooting was in a
grove of tall walnut-trees that shades one
side of the valley. | had wandered into it
at noon-time, when all nature is peculiarly
quiet, and was startled by the roar of my
own gun, as it broke the Sabbath stiffness
around, and was prolonged and reverberat-
ed by the angry echoes. If ever l should
wish for a retreat, whittier l might steal
from the world and it's distractions, and
dream quietly away the remnant of q
troubled life, l know of none more proms-
ing than this little valley.
From the listless repose Of the place, and
the peculiar character of its inhabitants.
who are descendants from the original
Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has
long been known by the name of Sleepy
Hollow, and its rustic lads are called the
Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all the
neighboring country. A drowsy dreamy
influence seems to hang over the land, and
to pervade the very atmosphere. Some
say that the place was bewitched by high
German doctor, during the early days of
the settlement; others, that an old Indian
chief, the prophet or wizard of his tribe.
held his pow-wows there before the country
was discovered by Master Hendrick Hud-
son. Certain it is, the place still continues
under some bewitching power, that holds
a spell over the minds of the good people,
causing them to walk in a continual reve-
rie. They are given to all kinds of mar
velous beliefs; are subject to frances and
visions; and frequently see strange sights,
and hear music and voices in the air. The
whole neighborhood abounds with local
tales, haunted spots, and twilight super
stitions; stars shoot and meteors glare
oftener across the valley than in other part
of the country, and the nightmare with
her whole ninefold seems to make it the
favorite scene of her gambols.
The dominant spirit, however, that
haunts this enchanted region, and seems to
be commander-in- chief of all the powers of
the air, is the apparition of a figure on horse
back without a head. 1t is said by some
to he the ghost of IIessian trooper, whose
head had been carried away by cannon
ball, in some nameess battle during the
Revolutionary War, and who is ever and
anon seen by the country folk, hurrying
along in the gloom of night, as if on the
wings of the wind. His haunts are not
confined to the valley, but extend at times
to the adjacent roads, and especially to the
vicinity of the church at no great distance
Indeed certain of the most authentic his
t0rians of those parts, who have been care
full in collecting and collating the floating
facts concerning this spectre, allege that
the body of the trooper, having been buri-
ed III the churchyard, the ghost rides forth
to the scene of battle in nightly quest of
his head; and that the rushing speed with
which he sometimes passes along the Hol-
low, like midnight blast, is owing to his
being belated, and in a hurry to get back
to the church yard before day-break.
Such is the general purport of this
! legendary superstition, which has furnish
ed materials for many a wild story in that
region of shadows; and the spectre is
known, at all the country firesides, by the
name of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy
Hollow.
1t is remarkable that the visionary pro.
pensity l have mentioned is not confined
to the native inhabitants of the valley, but
is unconscieusy imbibed by every one who
resides there for a time. However wide
awake they may have been before they
entered that sleepy region, they are sure,