Irving's splendid portrayal of life in old New Amster- 

 dam was typified when he wrote: 



. . . the most important of the innumerable 

 laws enacted by the governor, is one framed 



William the Testy, director-general of Netv Amsterdam, loas the target 

 of a "smoke-in" hij the town's pipe smokers, who refused to abide by 

 a ban on smoking. 



in an unlucky moment, to prohibit the uni- 

 versal practice of smoking . . . he could not 

 have struck more closehj, upon the sensibilities 

 of the million. The populace were in as violent 

 a turmoil as the constitutional gravity of their 

 deportment would permit— a mob of factious 

 citizens had even the hardihood to assemble 



