vajv cortlandt manor-house. 109 



he had done for the nation. They made him 

 Governor of Arizona, with a salary large enough 

 for a small politician, and they went to live and 

 to be buried alive in those hot and desert 

 lands. Strange contrast this from their 

 shaded lawns on the Hudson! They soon 

 came back to the East, and are now — who 

 knows where ? — ending their days in obscurity 

 and neglect. Thus passes the glory of the 

 world. New heroes have come upon the stage 

 and gone, and the Pathfinder, too, is dead, al- 

 though he still lives. 



Soon after passing through the village of 

 Sing Sing, the post-road makes a sudden turn 

 to the left, and spans the Croton River with a 

 substantial bridge near its mouth. On the op- 

 posite bank stands the time-honored Van Cort- 

 landt manor house, one of the most interest- 

 ing relics of ancient days. 



It was built by Stephanus Van Cortlandt, 

 the first "lord of the manor," in 1681, the 

 date as chronicled on the door-post at the 

 entrance. It was evidently nitended origi- 

 nally rather for a fortress than' for a dwelling- 

 house, the loopholes for musketry used against 

 the Indians which indicate this, being still in 

 such condition for defence that I have some- 



