At that time a company of roughs from farther down the ri\-er were marching upon Tarr}^town, with the intention of doing mischief to the cok)ured ])ortion of the i;)0])ulation. The latter, badly frightened, swarmed over the hills, taking refuge in the woods back of the village. But the rioters never reached the town. A brave minister of the place, the Rev. Abel T. Stewart, accompanied by one or two companions, went unarmed to meet that mob of several hundred bloodthirsty ruffians, and succeeded l)y his fearless resolution and j^ersuasive eloc[uence in turning them from their purpose. One cannot visit Sleepy Hollow or explore the l)anks of the Pocantico as it seeks the Hudson without being conscious that Washington Irving stretched his sceptre over these hills and valleys. From the gables of Sunn}'side to the belfry of the Old Dutch Church, from "Tommy Dean's" store to Carl's mill, his domain extended, and is still his inalienable territory, let who will pay the taxes! The associations which led him back to Tarrytown after years of w^andering were formed in boyhood. The Pauldings, connected with his family by marriage, lived near a pleasant bay, just south of the

240 The Hudson River

present station, and it was while visiting them that he made an early acquaintance with the characters and scenes that engaged his pen in later years. James Kirke Paulding, his senior by several years, was his guide and friend, if not philosopher; and it is not improbable that the people of the neighbourhood, who have conjured for half a century by Geoffrey Crayon's name, must thank that engaging youngster for their titular saint. It is hard for us to realise, looking at the cultivated "grounds," the "improved" residences, and innumerable smooth lawns, what those two boys found as they rambled with guns or rods over the hills, or pushed their boat into the bays along the river shore.