Idled with a watch in his life. That there were men skilled in the art, whose business it was to attend to those matters; but for his part he should only mar the workmanship, and put the whole in confusion-"Why, harkee, master of mine,” cried Peter, turning suddenly upon him, with a countenance that almost petrified the patcher of shoes into a perfect lapstone-" dost thou pretend to meddle with the movements of government to regulate and correct, and patch, and cobble a complicated machine, the principles of which are above thy comprehension, and its simplest operations too subtle for thy understanding when thou canst not correct a trifling error in a common piece of mechanism, the whole mystery of which is open to thy inspection ?-Hence with thee to the leather and stone, which are emblems of thy head; cobble thy shoes, and confine thyself to the vocation for which heaven has fitted thee." But, elevating his voice until it made the welkin ring, "if ever I catch thee, or any of thy tribe, meddling again with the affairs of government-by St. Nicholas, but I'll have every mother's bastard of ye flayed alive, and your hides stretched for drum-heads, that ye may thenceforth make a noise to some purpose!"

This threat, and the tremendous voice in which it was uttered, caused the whole multitude to quake with fear. The hair of the orator rose on his head like his own swine's bristles, and not a knight of the thimble present but his heart died within him, and he felt as though he could have verily escaped through the eye of a needle.

But though this messure produced the desired effect in redaring the community to order, yet it sended or injure the popularity of the great Peter sung the elevated ralgar. Many accused Im of raining highly aristocratic sentiments, and of leaning too much in favour of the ptoms. Indeed there appeared to be some grounds for such an accusation, as he always ecmed himself with a very lofty soldier-like port, and vis somewhat particular in his dress; dressing hmal who not in uniform, in simple but rich apparsi; and was especially noted for having his sand leg which was a very comely one) always arrived in a red stocking and high-heeled shoe. Tavare a man of great simplicity of manners, yet there was something about him that repelled rude familiarity, while it encouraged frank and even south interrourse.

He likewise observed some appearance of court eremony and etiquette. He received the common class of visitors on the stoop, before his doer, scecrding to the custom of our Dutch anBut when visitors were formally. received in his parlour, it was expected they would appear in clean linen; by no means to be bareficted, and always to take their hats off. On pable occasions he appeared with great pomp of equipage for, in truth, his station required a little show and dignity), and always rode to church in a yellow waggon with flaming red wheels.

These symptoms of state and ceremony occa• Properly spelled storb; the porch commonly built in front of Dutch houses, with benches on each side.

sioned considerable discontent among the vulgar. They had been accustomed to find easy access to their former governors, and in particular had lived on terms of extreme familiarity with William the Testy. They therefore were very impatient of these dignified precautions, which discouraged intrusion. But Peter Stuyvesant had his own way of thinking in these matters, and was a staunch upholder of the dignity of office.

He always maintained that government to be the least popular, which is most open to popular access and control; and that the very brawlers against court ceremony, and the reserve of men in power, would soon despise rulers among whom they found even themselves to be of consequence. Such, at least, had been the case with the administration of William the Testy; who, bent on making himself popular, had listened to every man's advice, suffered every person to have admittance to his person at all hours; and, in a word, treated every one as his thorough equal. By this means every scrub politician and public busybody was enabled to measure wits with him, and to find out the true dimensions, not only of his person, but his mind.-And what great man can stand such scrutiny?

It is the mystery that envelopes great men, that gives them half their greatness. We are always inclined to think highly of those who hold themselves aloof from our examinations; there is likewise a kind of superstitious reverence ⚫ for office, which leads us to exaggerate the merits

sad suities of men of power, and to suppose that ter must be constituted diferent from other me And med faith is as necessary in poli

sa in tertainly is of the first imPORADCE, TRAT A Noy should be governed by w me: but it is almost equally imat the people should believe them to be ww. in this beef alone can produce willing

I beg in therefore, this desirable confidence in rulers, the people should be allowed to see as Ime of them as possible. He who gains access a nice son nds out by what foolishness the wait is governed He discovers that there is a quackery in legislation, as well as in everything

that many a measure, which is supposed by the mina be the result of great wisdom and dreg delteration is the effect of mere chance, or perture of hair-brained experiment. That rulers have their whims and errors as well as other men, and the £ are not so wonderfully superior to their flow-creatures as he at first imagined, since he finds that even his own opinions have had some weight with them. Thus awe subsides ino acidente, confidence inspires familiarity, and familiarity produces contempt. Peter Stuyvesant on the contrary, by conducting himself with dignity and loftiness, was looked up to with great reverence. As he never gave his reasons for anything he did, the public always gave him credit for very profound ones. Every movement, however intrinsically unimportant, was a matter of speculation; and his very red stocking excited