Cupid lingered on the stoop, until his master had turned a corner; then, shaking his head with all the misgivings of an ignorant and superstitious mind, he drove the young fry of blacks, who thronged the door, into the house, closing all after him with singular and scrupulous care.  How far the presentiment of the black was warranted by the event, will be seen in the course of the narrative.

The wide avenue, in which Oloff Van Staats dwelt, was but a few hundred yards in length.  It terminated, at one end, with the fortress; and at the other, it was crossed by a high stockade, which bore the name of the city walls; a defence that was provided against any sudden irruption of the Indians, who then hunted, and even dwelt in some numbers, in the lower counties of the colony.

It requires great familiarity with the growth of the town, to recognize, in this description, the noble street that now runs for a league through the centre of the island.  From this avenue, which was then, as it is still, called the Broadway, our adventurers descended into a lower quarter of the town, holding free converse by the way.

“That Cupid is a negro to keep the roof on a house, in its master’s absence, Patroon,” observed the Alderman, soon after they had left the stoop.  “He looks like a padlock, and one might sleep, without a dream, with such a guardian near his dwelling.  I wish I had brought the honest fellow the key of my stable!”

“I have heard my father say, that the keys of his own were always better near his own pillow,” coolly returned the proprietor of a hundred thousand acres.

“Ah, the curse of Cain!  It is needless to look for the fur of a marten on the back of a cat.  But, Mr. Van Staats, while walking to your door this morning, it was my fortune to meet the late governor, who is permitted by his creditors to take the air, at an hour when he thinks the eyes of the impertinent will be shut.  I believe, Patroon, you were so lucky as to get back your moneys, before the royal displeasure visited the man?”

“I was so lucky as never to trust him.”

“That was better still, for it would have been a barren investment—­great jeopardy to principal, and no return.  But we had discourse of various interests, and, among others, something was hazarded concerning your amatory pretensions to my niece.”

“Neither the wishes of Oloff Van Staats, nor the inclinations of la belle Barberie, are a subject for the Governor in Council,” said the Patroon of Kinderhook, stiffly.

“Nor was it thus treated.  The Viscount spoke me fair, and, had he not pushed the matter beyond discretion, we might have come to happier conclusions.”

“I am glad that there was some restraint in the discourse.”

“The man certainly exceeded reason, for he led the conference into personalities that no prudent man could relish.  Still he said it was possible that the Coquette might yet be ordered for service among the islands!”