Satanstoe; Or, the Littlepage Manuscripts. A Tale of the ColonyCooper, James Fenimore
General
Satanstoe; Or, the Littlepage Manuscripts. A Tale of the Colony
Cooper, James Fenimore
Antirent War, N.Y., 1839-1846 -- Fiction
[Footnote 27: In plain English, the “great go-to-bed,” and the “little
go-to-bed.” There may be a portion of our readers who are not aware that
the word “levee,” meaning a morning reception _by_ a great man, is derived
from the French “lever,” which means “to rise,” or “to get up.” The kings
of France were in the habit of receiving homage at their morning toilets; a
strange custom, that doubtless had its origin in the _empressement_ of the
courtier to inquire how his master had slept; which receptions were divided
into two classes, the “_grand lever_” and the “_petit lever_”--the “great
getting-up” or the “little getting-up.” The first was an occasion of more
state than the last. Even down to the time of Charles X., the court papers
seldom went a week without announcing that the king had signed the contract
of marriage--a customary compliment in France, among friends of this of
that personage--at the “grand lever,” or at the “petit lever;” the first, I
believe, but am not certain, being the greater honour of the two.--EDITOR.]
[Footnote 28: Doortje--pronounced Doort-yay--means Dorothea. Mr. Littlepage
uses a sort of corruption of the pronunciation. I well remember a
fortune-teller of that name, in Albany; though it could not have been the
Doortje of 1758.--EDITOR.]
[Footnote 29: It is quite evident, that Mr. Cornelius Littlepage was, to
agree at least, a believer in the fortune-teller's art. This was, however,
no more than was common, a century since. Quite within my recollection,
the Albanians had a celebrated dealer in the black art, who was regularly
consulted, on the subject of all lost spoons, and the pilfering of
servants, by the good housewives of the town, as recently as my school-boy
days. The Dutch, like the Germans, appear to have been prone to this
species of superstition; from which, even the English of education were
far from being free, a century since. Mademoiselle Normand existed in
the present century, even, in the sceptical capital of France. But, the
somnambulist is taking the place of the ancient soothsayer, in our own
times.--EDITOR.]
[Footnote 30: This might have been true, in 1758; but is not true for
1845.--EDITOR.]
[Footnote 31: In the colony of New York, there lived but one titled man,
for a considerable period. It was the celebrated Sir William Johnson,
Bart., of Johnson Hall, Johnstown, Albany, now Fulton County. The son of
Sir William Johnson was knighted during his father's life-time, and was Sir
John while Sir William was living. At the death of his father, he was Sir
John Johnson, Kt. & Bart.; and it was usual for the common class of people
to style him a Knight, of Barrow_night_.--EDITOR.]
CHAPTER XIX.
Virtue, how frail it is!
Friendship, too rare!
Love, how it sells poor bliss
For proud despair!
But we, though soon they fall,
Survive their joy, and all
Which ours we call.
SHELLEY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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