San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1889-01-24
RIP VAN WNKLE.
By WASHINGTON IRVING.


A PosTHUMoUs WRITING OF pmDmcu
RNICKERBoCKER.
BY Wooden, God of saxons
From whence comes wensday, that h "Wednesday.
Truth "a thing that ever viii keep
Unto thylke day In which creep Into
My sepulchre. Cartwright
Whoever has made voyage up the
Hudson must remember tho Kaatskill
mountains. They are dismembered
branch of the great Appalachian family,
and are seen away to the west Of the
river, swelling up to noble height and
lording 1t over the surrounding country.
Every change of season, every change OF
weather, indeed every hour Of the day,
produces some change In tho magical
hues and shapes of these mountains; and
they are regarded by oil the good wives,
far and near, as perfect barometsrs.
When the weather Is fair and settled
they are clothed In blue and purple and
print their bold outlines on the clear
evening sky; but sometimes, when the
rest of tho landscape is cloudless, they
will gather hood Of grave vapors about
their submits, which, In the last rays Of
the setting sun, will glow and light up
like crown of glory.
At tho foot of these fairy mountains
the voyager may have described tho
light smoke curling up from village
whose shingle roofs CLEAN among the
trees just where tho blue tints of the up
land melt away into the fresh green Of
the nearer landscape. 1t Is little vii
lago of great antiquity, having been
founded by some Of tho Dutch colonists
in the early times Of the province, just
about tho beginning Of the government
of the good Peter Stuyvesant (may he
rest in peaceD and there were some Of
the houses of the original settlers stand.
ing within fow years, built Of small
yellow bricks brought from Holland,
having latticed windows and gable fronts
surmounted with weatbercocka
In that same village, and I'm one Of
these very houses (Which, to tell the pro-
ciso truth, was sadly time worn and
weatherbeaten) there lived, many years
since, while the country was yet prov.
ince Of Great Britain, simple, good
natured fellow of tho name Of Rip
Van Willsle. He was descend
ant of the Van Wrinkles who 6g-
ured 20 calamity in the chivalrous days
Of Peter Stllyvesant, and accompanied
him TO tho siege Of Fort Christina. He
inherited, however, but little OF the mar
tial character Of his ancestors. / have
observed that he was simple, good
natured man; he was, moreover, kind
neighbor, and an obedient, henpecked
husband Indeed, TO the latter circnm-
stance might be owing that meekness OF
spirit which gained him such universal
popularity; for those men are most apt
to be obsequious and conciliating abroad,
who are under the discipline Of shrews
ut home. Their tempers, doubtless, are
rendered plant and maleable in the
fiery furnace of domestic tribulation,
and curtain lecture is worth all the
sermons In the world for teaching the
A termagant wife may, therefore, in
some respects, be considered a tolerable
blessing; and, if 30, Rip Van Wrinkle
was thrice blessed.
Certain it Is, that he was great favor
ite among all the good wives of the vii.
liage, who, as usual with the amiable
sex, took his part in all family squabbles,
and never failed, whenever they talked
those matters over In their evening gos-
sipings, to lay all the blame on Dame
| Van Winkle. The children of the village,
too, would shout with JOY whenever he ap.
preached. He assisted ut their sports,
made their play things, taught them to
| fly kites and shoot marbles, and told
them long stories Of ghosts, witches and
Indians. Whenever no went lodging
about the village, he was surrounded by
troop of them, hanging on his skirts,
clambering on his back, and playing q
thousand tricks on him with impunity;
and not q dog would bark Ut him
throughout the neighborhood.
The great error In Rips composition
was an insuperable aversion TO al kinds
Of profitable labor. 1t could not be from
want OF assiduity or perseverance,, for he
would sit on O wet rock, with q rod as
| long and heavy as Tartar's lance, and
fish all day without murmur, even
| though he should not be encouraged by
q single nibble. lie would carry q fowl
| ing piece on his shoulder fo= hours to-
gether, trudgtng through woods and
| swamp5, and up hill and down dale, to
shoot few squirrels or wild pigeons
| He would never refuse TO assist q neigh
Dor, even In the roughest toll, and was a
| foremost man at all country frolics for
| husldng Indian corn or building stone
| fences. Tho women of the village, too,
used TO employ him to run their eIrands,
and to do such little odd jobs as their less
obliging husbands would not do for them;
In a word, Rip was ready to attend to
anybody's busness but his own; but as to
doing family duty, and keeping his farm
| In order, he found II impossible.
In fact, he declared 1t was OF no use 70
work on his farm; it was the most pesti-
/ lent little piece Of ground in tho whole
country; everything about 1t went wrong,
/ and would gowrong in spite Of him. HIS
fences wcTe continually falling 10 pieces;
bis COW would either go estray or set
among the cabhages; weeds were sure TO
grow quicker in his fields than anywhere
else; the rain always made point Of Bct-
/ ting In just as he had some out door work
to do; so that though his patrimonial
estate had dwindled away under his man
! agprneut, acre by acre, until there WIS
little more left than q mere patch OF In
dian cord and potatoes, yet IL was the
I worst oondiiioucd farm 10 the neighbor-
hood.
His children, too, were - ragTed and
Z Wild IS II they bclolged 20 nobody. lis
soa Rip, a. urchin becptten Ia his own
/ Likeness, promised % ir.horit the hnbits,
with tie cd clothes, Of llis father. lie
vas generally soeD trOCTing ike colt a
his mothers heels, oTuipped In Tatr q
lis fathers CIT oH galhzzskins, which
be bad much ado O. hold Up with oue
hand, - = foe lady dOes her train IN had
weather.
/ PIP Van Wirkle. hgTgvo-, vas o1s q
tloss kapQy u1orials, q foolilh, VII
Clsd disylEi5or-s. Who t1kc the world
ezg7, oaE vgkite tT1-.6 CO LrJ=u- uhicll-
. cvtr cslr 10 90 with t,se la.ft tilolsgilt ca
trO1lle, ard u-o-llf rzl-fr staEEs ol a
rcnuy tha1 work f1- . r11--- lf sslt 70
ftruslf Be void lave vsi.lsiles8 LIE apray
. r. rerfecf oo1'arIfr1erts tuf his wife Ee5a
-r-.srr.r.zIl- -Ti-rf-av - - ez-s nfolt