red spot was owned by a noted burgher called Ready
Money Prevost; a man of whom it was whispered that he had many and
mysterious dealings with parts beyond seas. All these things, however,
had been jumbled together in our minds in that vague way in which such
things are mingled up in the tales of boyhood.

While I was musing upon these matters my companions had spread a
repast, from the contents of our well-stored pannier, and we solaced
ourselves during the warm sunny hours of mid-day under the shade of a
broad chestnut, on the cool grassy carpet that swept down to the
water's edge. While lolling on the grass I summoned up the dusky
recollections of my boyhood respecting this place, and repeated them
like the imperfectly remembered traces of a dream, for the
entertainment of my companions. When I had finished, a worthy old
burgher, John Josse Vandermoere, the same who once related to me the
adventures of Dolph Heyliger, broke silence and observed, that he
recollected a story about money-digging which occurred in this very
neighborhood. As we knew him to be one of the most authentic narrators
of the province we begged him to let us have the particulars, and
accordingly, while we refreshed ourselves with a clean long pipe of
Blase Moore's tobacco, the authentic John Josse Vandermoere related the
following tale.

WOLFERT WEBBER; OR, GOLDEN DREAMS.

In the year of grace one thousand seven hundred and--blank--for I do
not remember the precise date; however, it was somewhere in the early
part of the last century, there lived in the ancient city of the
Manhattoes a worthy burgher, Wolfert Webber by name. He was descended
from old Cobus Webber of the Brille in Holland, one of the original
settlers, famous for introducing the cultivation of cabbages, and who
came over to the province during the protectorship of Oloffe Van
Kortlandt, otherwise called the Dreamer. The field in which Cobus
Webber first planted himself and his cabbages had remained ever since
in the family, who continued in the same line of husbandry, with that
praiseworthy perseverance for which our Dutch burghers are noted. The
whole family genius, during several generations was devoted to the
study and development of this one noble vegetable; and to this
concentration of intellect may doubtless be ascribed the prodigious
size and renown to which the Webber cabbages attained.

The Webber dynasty continued in uninterrupted succession; and never did
a