Chapter V
The City that Irving Knew

STRETCHING from Broadway
towards the east, starting from
the ivy-covered walls of the Chapel
of St. Paul — here lay the scenes of
Washington Irving's childhood. Gol¬
den Hill was the name given to this
district, long before Irving was born ;
called so because of its golden appear¬
ance in the autumn days. It was a
wondrously beautiful place, and set
squarely upon the hill-top was an inn
that, in the days of the Revolution,
came to be a meeting-place for pa¬
triots. Even now, when the glories
of Golden Hill seem quite forgotten,
there are those who love to walk its
crowded ways, and who firmly believe
that it came by its name in prophecy
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