stachios fiercely greased and his hair pomatumed back, and
queued so stiffly that he grinned above the ramparts like a grisly
death's head.

There came on the intrepid Peter, his brows knit, his teeth set, his
fists clinched, almost breathing forth volumes of smoke, so fierce was
the fire that raged within his bosom. His faithful squire Van Corlear
trudged valiantly at his heels, with his trumpet gorgeously bedecked
with red and yellow ribbons, the remembrances of his fair mistress at
the Manhattoes. Then came waddling on the sturdy chivalry of the Hudson.
There were the Van Wycks, and the Van Dycks, and the Ten Eycks; the Van
Nesses, the Van Tassels, the Van Grools, the Van Hoesens, the Van
Giesons, and the Van Blarcoms; the Van Warts, the Van Winkles, the Van
Dams; the Van Pelts, the Van Rippers and the Van Brunts. There were the
Van Hornes, the Van Hooks, the Van Bunschotens; the Van Gelders, the Van
Arsdales, and the Van Bummels; the Vander Belts, the Vander Hoofs and
the Vander Voorts, the Vander Lyns, the Vander Pools and the Vander
Spiegles. There came the Hoffmans, the Hooghlands, the Hoppers, the
Cloppers, the Ryckmans, the Dyckmans, the Hogebooms, the Rosebooms, the
Oothouts, the Quakenbosses, the Roerbacks, the Garrebrantzes, the
Bensons, the Brouwers, the Waldrons, the Onderdonks, the Varra Vangers,
the Schermerhorns, the Stoutenburghs, the Brinkerhoffs, the Bontecous,
the Knickerbockers, the Hockstrassers, the Ten Breecheses, and the Tough
Breecheses, with a host more of worthies whose names are too crabbed to
be written, or if they could be written it would be impossible for man
to utter--all fortified with a mighty dinner, and, to use the words of a
great Dutch poet:

"Brimful of wrath and cabbage."

[Illustration: THERE CAME ON THE INTREPID PETER]

For an instant the mighty Peter paused in the midst of his career, and,
mounting on a stump, addressed his troops in eloquent Low Dutch,
exhorting them to fight like _duyvels_, and assuring them that if they
conquered they should get plenty of booty; if they fell they should
be allowed the satisfaction, while dying, of reflecting that it was in
the service of their country, and after they were dead of seeing their
names inscribed in the temple of renown, and handed down, in company
with all the other great men of the year, for the admiration of
posterity. Finally, he swore to them, on the word of a governor (and
they knew him too well to doubt it for a