It commands a fine view of the Harlem Eiver at the High Bridge, to the village of Harlem and beyond ; *^ also of Long Island Sound, the villages of Astoria and Flushing, and the green fields of Long Island. Nearer are seen Harlem Plains, and the fine new bridge at Macomb's Dam. This house was built before the old war for independence, by Iloger Morris, a fellow- soldier with Washington on the field of Monongohela,

THE HAELEM EIVER, FEOM THE MORRIS HOUSE.

where Braddock fell, in the summer of 1755. Morris was also Washington's rival in a suit for the heart and hand of Mary, the heir of the lord of Philipse's Manor. The biographer says that in February, 1756, Colonel Washington went to Boston to confer with Governor Shirley about military affairs in Virginia. He stopped in New York on his return, and

* Harlem, situated on the Harlem Eiver, between the Eighth Avenue and East Eiver, was an early settlement on the island of Manhattan, by the Dutch. It was a flourishing village, chiefly bordering the Third Avenue, but is now a part of the great metropolis.

THE HUDSON.

was then the g-uest of Beverly Eobinson. Mrs. Eobinson's sister, Mary Philipse, was also a guest there, in the summer-time. Her bright eyes, blooming cheeks, great vivacity, perfection of person, aristocratic connexions, and prospective wealth, captivated the young Virginia soldier. He lingered in her presence as long as duty would permit, and would gladly have carried her with him to Virginia as his bride ; but his extreme diffidence kept the momentous question unspoken, and Eoger Morris, his fellow aide-de-camp in Braddock's military family, bore off the