Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-03-14
DELPHI HEYLIGER.
By WASHINGTON IRVING.

New York, while it groaned under ths
tyranny of the English governor, Lore
Cornbury. who carried his crue.tles 10
wards the Dutch inhabitants so far as &c
allow no dominic, or schoolmaster, tt
officiate in their language, without his
special license; about this time, there
lived in the jolly little old city OF the
Manhattoes, a kind motherly dame,
known by the name of Dame Heyiiger.
( She was the widow of Dutch sea cap
tain, who died suddenly of fever, IN
consequence of working too hard, and
eating too heartily, at the time when all
! the inhabitants turned out in a panic, to
fortify the place against the invasion OF
a small French privateer. He left her
with very little money, and one infant
son. the only survivor of several children.
The good woman had need of much
management to make both ends meet
and keep up decent appearance. How
ever, as her husband had fallen victim
to his zeal for the public safety, it was
universally agreed that something
ought TO be done for the widow" and
on the hopes of this something she
lived tolerably for some years; in the
meantime, everybody pitied and spoke
well Of her; and that helped along.
She lived in a small house. in a small
street, called Garden street. very proba-
bly, from a garden which may have
fiourished there some time or other. AS
her necessities every year grew greater,
and the talk Of the public about doing
something for her grew less, she had
10 cast about for some mode of doing
something for herself, by way Of helping
out her slender means, and maintaining
her independence, of which she was
somewhat tenacious.
Living in a mercantile town, she had
caught something of the spirit. and de-
terfnined TO venture q little in the great
lottery of commerce. On q sudden,
therefore, 10 the great surprise of the
street, there appeared at her window a
grand array Of gingerbread kings and
queens, with their arms stuck akimbo,
after the invariable royal manner. There
were also several broken tumblers, some
filled with sugar plums, some with mar
bles; there were, moreover, cakes of
various kinds, and barley sugar, and
Holland dolls. and wooden horses, with
here and there gilt covered picture books,
and now and then skein of thread, or
dangling pound of candles. At the
door Of the house sat the good old DANES
cat, a decent demure looking parsonage,
that seemed to scan everybody that
passed, 10 criticise their dress, and now
and then 10 stretch her neck, and look
out with sudden curiosity, 20 see what
was going ON at the other end of the
street; but if by chance any idle vaga-
bond dog came by, and offered TO be
uncivil - hoity-toity! - how she would
bristle up. and growl, and spit, and strike
out her pawsl she was as indignant as
ever was an ancient and ugly spinster,
on the approach of some graceless prof
ligato.
But though the good woman had 20
come down 10 these humble means of
yet she still kept up a feel
ing of family pride, having descended
from the Nanderspiegels, Of Amsterdam;
and she had the family arms painted and
framed, and hung over her mantelpiece.
She was, in truth, much respected BY all
the poorer people of the place; her house
was quite resort Of the old wives of
the neighborhood they would drop in
there of a winters afternoon, as she sat
knitting on one side Of her fireplace, her !
rat purring on the other, and the tea ket- I
lie singing before it; and they would /
gossip with her until late in the evening. /
There was always an arm chair for Peter 1
le GroOdt. sometimes called Long Peter, /
md sometimes Peter Longlegs, the clerk |
md sexton of the little Lutheran church, (
who was her great crony, and indeed the /
,racle of her iireside. Nay. the dominic 1
himself Gid not disdain, now and then. |
o stop In. converse about the state of +
Ter mind, and take a glass of her special
rood cherry brandy Indeed. he never I
allied to call ON New Years day, and
wish her a happy New Year; and the
,ood dame, who was a little vain on
ome points, always piqued herself ON
living him as large q cake as any one in
own.
have said that she had enc son. He
vas the child Of her old age; but could
hardly be called the comfort-for, of all T
lnlucky urchins, Dolph Heyliger was the
most mischievous. Not that the whipster
vas really vicious: he was only full of
un and frolic. and had that daring,
,amesome spirit, which is extolled in q
ich mans child, but execrated in poor
mans. He was continually getting into
grapes: his mother was necessarily
arassed with complaints of some wag-
-ish pranks which he had played off;
ills were sent in for windows that he
ad broken; in a word, he had not
cached his fourteenth year before he was
ronounced by the neighborhood to be a
wicked dog. the wickedest dog in the
trectr' Nay, one old gentleman, in a
laret colonel coat. with a thin red face
nd ferret eyes. went so far as 70 assure
lame Heyliger, that her son would, one
ay or other. come to the galiows,
Yet, notwithstanding all this, the poor
Id soul loved her boy. Ii seemed as
hough she loved him the better. the
'orse he behaved, and that he grew
lore in her favor. the more be grew out
favor with the world. Mothers are
oolish. fond hearted beings. there's no
easoning them out of their doiage: and,
ldeed. this poor wonan's child was all
nat was left TO love her in this world
D we must not think it hard that she !
armed a deaf ear 10 her good friends, {
tho sought 10 prove TO her that Dolph ]
-ould come TO q halter.
To do the varlet justice, too, he was
irongly attached to his parent. He {
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