The Washington herald., 1914-08-02
After the War.


Lndependence.
After the War.
When Lord cornwaIlis had surrender
ed at Yorktown and the British bands
marching out Of the town, had played
ssThe world.Turned Upside Down." Maj.
Mordaunt LIttlepage, making his way
honeward, stopped at a little tavern
within a days journey Of his fathers
estate at Kingsbridge. n. Y, and paid
81 200 for a supper for himself and bis
black servant and slave, Jap.
And this was no feast such as the
brother of vitellius served up to the new
Emperor. with 5000 dishes. including the
spawn Of lamphreys from the Carpathian
Sea and the brains Of pheasants-not al
all. The piece de resistance was fried
pork swimming in its own grease.
Nor was Mordaunt. although barely
twenty-one, an extravagant youth He
had paid in deprecated Continental script
which the Landlord scoffed at as he
took, and which explains the price
All during the long war for independ-
ence Mordaunt had been oscillating be-
tween camps and battlehelds and Mas
sau CoHsge-which institution OF learn
ing even then was celebrated through
out the colonies and seemed to have an
inkling of it's future greatness.
Welcomed Home.
But now the war was over and a
.s., .,,-.-,, having Drorooted Nor
daunt's father, the colonel, to be briga-
dier general by brevet and sent him
home, had promoted Mordaunt to be a
major by brevet and said Good day
TO you
Arriving at the paternal estate Of
1nacsbush, at Kingsbridge, Mordaunt
found the whole family assembled there
to welcome him. There was grandmother
IittIepage, come over from her estate Of
Satanstoe ION the Neck in Westches-
ter; father and mother LIttlepage; the
majors elder sister, Anneke, married to
Mr.. Kettletas. a gentleman Of estate,
who was engaged in founding an "old
Knickerbocker family at the south end
of Manhattan Island, and had made the
perilous journey to Kingsbridge to meet
the young soldier.
And, last but not least, the charming
younger sister, Just turned eighteen, Ka-
trinke, or Kate.
CoeJemans-
The old general was very wen. Of
course but the young major was the
hero Of the gathering, and took female
adulation as most young men of his age
do-as something entirely suitable and
fitting.
Even the old general burned a few
soss-sticks before his handsome, stalwart
soldier son.
Then there was old Andres Coejemans
pronounced Queemans by the New
Yorkers-who had been a companion Of
the general in some fights in the French
and Indian wars, and had served in the
Revolution.
He was generally known as Chain
bearer, his real name being stumbling
block and a snare to anybody but a full
blooded Knickerbocker.
He was of a good. though decayed
Dutch family. and had started out to be
surveyor But mathematics hoored
him, and, though he took contracts, and
large ones, too, for making surveys, he
employed somebody else to do the fig
uring"
He had served in the war in the regi-
ment of Gen. Littlepage-the same in
which Mordaunt had served-and had
risen to a captaincy. He. also, swung a
censer before the altar whereon the
household idol was enshrined.
Dreams Come True.
And as for Jaap. who had followed
his master in the last campaign. he
gathered the slaves about him at night
when the moon shone bright upon the
waters of the Hudson and silvered the
rippIes Of the Harlem, and told them such
tales Of Master Mordy's" prowess that
they began to think Washington was a
rather commonplace individual after ALL
A few days after his return from the
wars Mordaunt and Kate, out for ride,
stopped at the inn near Kingsbridge to
speak to the landlady. Mrs. Light. who
had kept the place for half a century
''Ah. my dreams are come true said
the voluble landlady. II dreamed before
the general came back and dreamed
before the young major came back. But.
major, our clergyman don't pray for the
King and Queen any more, no more than
If there wasn't any sich people.
And must say. major. that his
majesty's officers spent more freely than
the Continental gentlemen. I've had EN-
both here by regiments. and that's the
character ] must give EN-
You must remember. replied Nor
daunt, that the British were richer and
had more money to spend than our peo-
pie. II is easy for the rich to appear
generous.
One Engagement announced.
yes. know that sir" replied the
landlady, but the Littlepages are rich