THE TOWN OF WEST FARMS. 525 



Here are portraits of the Hon. Lewis Morris, fourth proprietor of Morri- 

 sania, great grand-father of the present occupant; and his first wife, 

 Catharine Staats; and his son the Hon. Richard Morris, Judge of the 

 High Court of Admiralty in 1776 ; at the foot of this portrait is suspended 

 the hilt of the official sword that used to be borne by the Provincial 

 Judges of Admiralty. In one of the parlors of the mansion is to be seen 

 an original portrait of the celebrated St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of 

 the Jesuits, who was born in his father's castle of Loyola in the year 

 1 49 1, of a race so noble, that its head was always summoned to do 

 homage to the tlirone of Spain by a special writ He died first General 

 of his order in 1556, and was canonized by Pope Gregory XV. in 1622. 

 This picture was formerly in the possession of the late Jacob Lorillard, 

 Esq., father-in-law of the present proprietor, and has been long pro- 

 nounced an original by Peter Paul Rubens. The head, like the figure 

 painted by Rubens for the Jesuits at Antwerp, now at Warwick castle in 

 England, is wonderfully fine, and quite true to the Spanish type. Lewis 

 G. Morris, Esq., has been one of the most successful importers and 

 breeders of short-horn cattle in this country, and also very active in pro- 

 moting the improvements in the neighborhood in which he resides. His 

 brother, the late Hon. Robert Hunter Morris was Recorder, thrice in 

 succession Mayor and Post Master of New York city, and at the time of 

 his death a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State. 



The ancient residence of the Archer family, now occupied as a farm 

 house by F. L. Johnson, Esq., is distinguished in the history of the 

 Revolution as the head quarters of Colonel James de Lancey of the 

 Royal Refugee corps. The following incidents show that although 

 situated directly under the guns of Fort No. 8, De Lancey's position was 

 a very hazardous one, and required the utmost vigilance to guard against 

 a surprise. 



In May, 1780, Captain Cushing of the Massachusetts line, with a 

 small detachment under his command, consisting of one hundred infantry, 

 made an excursion to this place. The expedition seems to have been 

 planned by his guide, Michael Dyckman, who had ascertained by close 

 observation that the British sentinels were not in the habit of changing 

 their countersign; the next step was to capture one of the refugees 

 themselves, from whom he obtained the countersign. By this means, so 

 sudden and complete was the surprisal of the enemy on the occasion, 

 that over forty of them were either killed or made prisoners. It was the 

 intention to capture De Lancey, but he was absent from his quarters. 

 The cantonment had scarcely been turned, when a large party of Yaou- 

 ger horse collected and pursued Captain Cushing; but he effected 



