The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1873-10-11

now and then in the rear, to quicken theiI
speed, or help them over tall word
Books were flung aside without being put
away on the shelves, inkstands were over
turned, benches thrown down, and the
whole school was turned loose an hour
before the usual time, bursting forth like
a legion of young imps, yelping and rack
citing about the green, in joy at their early
emancipation.
The gallant Ichabod now spent at least
an extra half hour at his toilet, brushing
and furnishing up his best and indeed only
suit of rusty black, and arranging his
looks by bit of broken looking lass,
that hung up in the school house. That
he might make his appearance before his
in the true style of cavalier, he
borrowed horse from the farmer with
whom he was domiciliated, choleric old
Dutchman, of the name of Hans Van Rip
per, and, thus CALAMITY mounted, issued
forth, like a knight-errant in quest of ad
ventures. But it is meet l should, in the
true spirit of romantic story, give some
account of the looks and equipments OF
my hero and his steed. The animal he
bestrode was broken-down plough-h horse,
that had outlived almost everything but
his viciousness. He was gaunt and shag-
ged, with eve neck and a head like a
hammer; his rusty name and tail were
tangled and knotted with burrs; one eye
had lost it's pupil, and was glazing and
spectral; but the other had the CLEAN of a
genuine devil in it. Still he must have had
fire and mettle in his day, if we may judge
from the name he bore of Gunpowder.-
He had, in fact, been favorite steed OF
his masters, the choleric Van Ripper, who
was a furious rider, and had infused, very
probably, some of his own spirit into the
animal; for, old and broken down as he
looked, there was more of the lurking
devil in him than in any young filly in the
country.
Ichabod was suitable figure for such a
steed. He rode with short stirrups, which
brought his knees nearly up to the pommel
of the saddle; his sharp elbows stuck out
like grasshoppers'; he carried his whip
perpendicularly in his hand, like sceptre,
and, as his horse logged on, the motion of
his arms was not unlike the tapping Of a
pair of wings. A small wool hat rested on
the top of his nose, for so his scanty strip
of forehead might be called; and the skirts
of his black coat futtered out almost on
the horses tail Such was the appearance
of Ichabod and his steed, as they sham
bled out Of the gate Of Hans Van Ripper,
and it was altogether such an apparition as
is seldom to be met with in broad daylight.
1t was, as have said, fine autumnal
day, the sky was clear and serene, and
nature wore that rich and golden livery
which we always associate with the idea of
abundance. The forests had put on their
sober brown and yellow, while some trees
of the tenderer kind had been nipped by
the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange,
purple, and scarlet. Streaming files of
wild ducks began to make their appear
ance high in the air; the bark of the SPUR
rel might be heard from the groves Of
beech and hickory nuts, and the pensive
whistle of the quail at intervals from the
neighboring stubble-field.
The small birds were taking their fare
we'll banquets. In the fulness of their
revelry, they futtsred, chirping and frol-
licking, from bush to bush, and tree to tree,
capricious from the very profusion and
variety around them. There was the
honest cockrobin, the favorite game of
STRIPPING sportsmen, with its loud queru-
lous notes; and the twittering blackbirds
flying in sable clouds; and the golden
winged wood pecker, with his crimson
crest, his broad black gorget, and splendid
plumage; and the cedar bird, with its red
tipt wings and yellow-tip tail, and its lit
tie monteiro cap of feathers; and the blue
jay, that noisy cexcomb, in his gay light
blue coat and white nder-clothes, scream
ing and chattering, nodding and bobbing
and bowling, and pretending to be on good
terms with every songster of the grove.
AS Ichabod logged slowly on his way,
his eye, ever open to every symptom of
culinary abundance, ranged with delight
over the treasures of jolly autumn. On all
sides he beheld vast store of apples; some
hanging in oppressive opulence on the
trees; some gathered into baskets and bar
rels for the market; others heaped up in
rich piles for the cider-press. Farther on
he beheld great fields of Indian corn, with
its golden ears peeping from their leafy
coverts, and holding out the promise of
hasty- pudding; and the yellow pumpkins
lying beneath them, turning up their fair
round bellies to the sun, and giving ample
of the most luxurious of pies;
and anon he passed the fragrant buck
wheat fields, breathing the odor of the
beehive, and as he beheld them, soft an
ticipations stole over his mind of dainty
slapjacks, we'll buttered, and garnished
with honey or treacle, by the delicate little
iimpled hand of Katrina Van Tassel.
Thus feeding his mind with many sweet
thoughts and "sugared suggestions, he
jcarneyed along the sides of range Of
hills which look out upon some of the
goodfiest scenes Of the mighty Hudson
The sun gradually wheeled his broad disk
down into the west. The wide bosom of
the Tappan Zee lay motionless and glossy,
that here and there gentle un-
dulation waved and prolonged the blue
shadow of distant mountain. A few am
Der clouds floated in the sky, without a
breath of air to move them. The horizon
was of a fine golden tint, changing gradu-
ally into pure apple-gree and from that
into the deep blue of the mid heaven. A
slanting ray fingered on the woody crests
of the precipices that overhung some parts
of the river, giving greater depth to the
dark-gray and purple of their rocky sides.
A sloop was lettering in the distance,
dropping slowly down with the tide, her
sail hanging uselessly against the mast;
and as the reflection of the sky cleaned
along the still water, it seemed as if the
vessel was suspended in the air.
1t was toward evening that Ichabod ar
rived at the castle of Heer Van Tassel,