Men and Things in Albany Two Centuries Ago. 35 



in front, upon which it was no unusual practice to leave 

 clothes out all night to bleach. 



Going back again a hundred years before the times 

 mentioned as having tried men's souls, we find ourselves 

 in the neighborhood of the Dutch church. The portion 

 of Handelaer street below State was not yet known as 

 Court street, nor the upper portion as Market street. Be- 

 tween State and Beaver was what was called the Great 

 bridge, over the Rutten kil. The Rutten kil had its origin 

 in copious springs on the upper side of Lark street, and as 

 if out of the pond that once stood there, I perceive has 

 arisen the spire of an imposing church edifice. Timbers 

 of great length were sometimes ordered by the common 

 council to span this creek in making repairs to the bridge. 

 It was undoubtedly then a formidable stream, which had 

 been populous with beaver and stocked with fish ; now 

 merely a sewer, with an exuberance of rodents ! 



Adjoining the creek on the 

 south side was the residence 

 of Pieter Schuyler, the first 

 mayor of Albany, son of Phi- 

 lip Pietersen Van Schuyler 

 (1650), who often wrote his 

 name simplj^ Philip Pieter- 

 sen, that is, Philip the son of 

 Pieter, to distinguish himself 

 from some other Philip, per- 

 haps, such being one of the 

 mysteries of the ancient 

 Dutch nomenclature, chiefly 

 useful in our time to puzzle 

 the student in antiquarian 

 lore. If one has the perse- 

 verance to overcome the dif- 

 ficulties thus thrown in his 

 Portrait of Pieter Schuyler. way, it is Suggested whether 

 he might not be regarded as entitled to the deo-ree of 



