In front of the mansion a handsome view is obtained of the valley of Yonkers, and at the foot of the hill flows Tii)i)et's Brook. On the west side of the ridge is a charming view of the Hudson River, the Palisades and adjacent hills. The ancient residence of the Cortlandt fiimily stands in the valley below, about a mile from King's Bridge. A portion of the estate has been laid out as a park.

Yonker.s, seventeen miles from the City Hall of New York, is doubly interesting from its historical associations and its size and importance as the prin- I cipal town in the county. As the seat of thePhilipse

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

Manor it was formerly known as Philipsburgh. The old Philipse manor-house is one of the landmarks on the river. In the immediate vicinity are many palatial residences, including " Greystone," the residence of Hon. Samuel J. Tildeii. For many years Yonkers was an easy-going Dutch village, but after the opening of the Hudson River Railroad it sprang into sudden life and activity and soon became a flourishing suburb of the metropolis. It is now one of the handsomest cities in the country.

Hastings, the first village al)ove Yonkers, is the spot wlicre Cornwallis, after the fall of Fort Washington, crossed the river to attack Fort Lee. About a mile further on is Dobbs Ferry, near which was fought the

the river, embowered in a dense growth of shrubbery. It is of stone, with many gables, the eastern side being clothed with ivy from slips presented to Irving by Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford. The original structure was the " Woolfert's Roost," which gives its title to one of Irving's sketches. On the opposite bank is Tappan, memorable as the scene of the massacre of Baylor's regiment by the British under General Grey, and from the fact that about a mile from the town Major Andre, the victim of Arnold's treachery, was executed and biu'ied.