Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-05-18
from the Springfield Republican,
WHAT CAME OF A DREAM.

WHAT GAME Ut A DREAM.
Hans Getter was wealthy old Dutch
man, whose broad acres of field, wood
land and meadow are now partly covered
by the compact blocks of Brooklyn or
the village lots of Flatbush, L. L They
had descended to him, In the third or
fourth remove, from the ancestor who
first cleared and titled them, and there he
was living in all the rude and s11mptuous
plenty of the thrifty Hollanders in and
around New York and along the Hudson,
whom Irving has SO pleasantly immor-
tallzed. His numerous barns were burst
ing with the products of his golden har-
vest; his stalls and shed-ranges housed
the choicest breeds of cattle, sheep and
horses then known; while his house,
broad like its master, rather than lofty,
was stuffed from attic to cellar with every
commodity that could contribute to the
comfort and responsibility of the portlv
and ease-loving proprietor. Servants,
stewards and helpers he had in abund-
ance, SO that his personal participation
In the management of his affairs was
mostly confined to their general super
vision and the care of. his income. This
afforded him abundant leisure for the in
diligence OF his pipe and that dreamy
InactlOn which IS the paradise of all fat
Dutchmen. Besides his wife-a fair, ro-
tund, fresh-lOoklng woman-two chill
dren, son and daughter, both adults,
aided IN the business of farm and house
hold; while their position and prospects
thrust them into prominence as speci-
mems Of the rustic nobility of the times.
In the squat old mansion, with its broad
verandas, hospitality reigned supreme;
all the festivals and holidays of the old
country were duly observed; the dominic
and the schoolmaster were often and ever
welcome guests; and during the autumn
and winter months, at the harvest-home
and husking bees, the premises were the
focus of luxuriant cheer and good times
generally.
Our story takes US to the opening of
the American revolution. Bunker Hill
had been fought, and the British, driven
from Boston, were concentrating their
forces to capture and occupy New York
and its vicinity. As the quarrel with the
mother country progressed, men were
compelled to avow partiality for one party
or the other with more pronounced dis
tnctness. Hans Getter' s leaning, during
the preliminary troubles, had been to-
ward the colonial side;i but being consti-
tutionally sluggish and timid, ne would
have preferred to remain q non-cdmbat-
ant and to have his territory considered
neutral ground, supplying either bellig-
erent, or both, for proper considera-
ton. The prospect of trouble which
threatened his quiet annoyed him ex-
tremely, and as the cloud of war neared
his own locality, the incident confusion
made a chaos of his restful ideas and
threw him into condition noticeable In
some persons over burning dwelling.
Compelled to think and act rapidly, he
became bewildered, lost all presence of
mind, and finally tottered on the verge
of insanity. But we are anticipating a
little. W.
While the Continental army lay in his
nelghborhood, and III partial occupancy
OF his farm. Hans, though sorely grieved
at the unavoidable disturbance of his
ease, had passed as a sympathizer with
the colonial cause and had contributed
to the commissary stores, not SO much for
the love of the paper currency rendered
N exchange, as because he could not
help It. No military rules could prevent
countless petty vexations by an armed
host encamped on and around him. But
he was not treated as an enemy, nor was
the sanctity of his household openly vio-
lated. His paramount concern was for
the safety OF a certain earthen crock
the treasury of his annual revenues when
turned into gold coin-which had always
been kept In secret nook in his cellar,
accessible only to himself. There were
no banks IN which to deposit it, or stock
companies in which to invest it, and of
landed estate he had all he cared for.
And so his hoard had continued increas-
ing, until Plut11s, or some other deity
might please TO enlighten him as to a
better disposal thereof. Such informa-
ton must come, If at all, as an afiatus;
for necessity did not compel, and pro-
traceed thought on the subject was en-
tlrely incompatible with the tempera-
ment of the proprietor Hehad enough;
his heirs must look after the proper en-
ployment of what he might leave them.
What would you more? s4@
But matters changed for the worse
when the British ships of war appeared
off the island, threatening invasion and
another Kind of occupants. Visions of
devastation leered from the smoke of his
pipe and troubled his slumbers. AS he
pondered the subject his anxiety deep
ened into chronic detection; his appetite
dwindled; his days were doleful, his sleep
ftful and his reason seemed nearly un-