It was a pleasant and goodly sight, to witness the joy of the
people of New-Amsterdam, at beholding their warriors once
more return from this war in the wilderness. The old women
thronged round Antony Van Corlear, who gave the whole
history of the campaign with matchless accuracy: saving that
he took the credit of fighting the whole battle himself, and
especially of vanquishing the stout Risingh, which he consid-
ered himself as clearly entitled to, seeing that it was effected
by his own stone pottle.

The schoolmasters throughout the town gave holyday to
their little urchins, who followed in droves after the drums,
with paper capson their heads, and sticks in their breeches,
thus taking the first lesson in the art of war. As to the sturdy
rabble, they thronged at the heels of Peter Stuyvesant wher-
ever he went, waving their greasy hats in the air, and shout-
ing "Hard-koppig Piet for ever!"

It was, indeed, a day of roaring rout and jubilee. A huge
dinner was prepared at the Stadt-house in honour of the con-
querors, where were assembled, in one glorious constellation,
the great and the little luminaries of New-Amsterdam. There
were the lordly Schout and his obsequious deputy -- the burgo-
masters with their officious schepens at their elbows -- the sub-
altern officers at the elbows of the schepens, and so on to the
lowest hanger-on of police; every Tag having his Rag at his
side, to finish his pipe, drink off his heel-taps, and laugh at his
flights of immortal dulness. In short -- for a city feast is a
city feast all the world over, and has been a city feast ever
since the creation -- the dinner went off much the same as do
our great corporation junketings and fourth of July banquets.
Loads of fish, flesh, and fowl were devoured, oceans of liquor
drunk, thousands of pipes smoked, and many a dull joke hon-
oured with much obstreperous fat-sided laughter.

I must not omit to mention, that to this far-famed victory
Peter Stuyvesant was indebted for another of his many titles
-- for so hugely delighted were the honest burghers with his
achievements, that they unanimously honoured him with the
name of Pietre de Groodt, that is to say, Peter the Great, or, as it
was translated by the people of New-Amsterdam, Piet de Pig
-- an appellation which he maintained even unto the day of his
death.

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