TO THE PUBLIC.
 

" To rescue from oblivion the memory of for-
" mer incidents, and to render a just tribute of
" renown to the many great and wonderful trans-
" actions of our Dutch progenitors, Diedrich
" Knickerbocker, native of the city of New York,
" produces this historical essay.*" Like the great
Father of History, whose words I have just quot¬
ed, I treat of times long past, over which the twi¬
light of uncertainty had already thrown its sha¬
dows, and the night of forgetfulness was about to
descend for ever. With great solicitude had I long
beheld the early history of this venerable and an¬
cient city gradually slipping from our grasp, trem
bling on the lips of narrative old age, and day by
day dropping piecemeal into the tomb. In a lit¬
tle while, thought I, and those reverend Dutch
burghers, who serve as the tottering monuments
of good old times, will be gathered to their fathers;
 

* Beloe's Herodotus.