New York - The Novel

you do look uncommonly like her. Astounding!”
    “She is my cousin german, you know,” said His Lordship, very pleased with himself.
    “Show us your leg,” demanded the English lady. And so His Lordship lifted his skirts and showed us his leg which, in silk stocking, looked very fine. And then he moved his leg about in a manner which almost made me blush. “Why, Corny,” she laughed, “you could have been a woman.”
    “Sometimes,” said Her Ladyship quietly, “he is.”
    Now His Lordship moved around the room, curtsied to his guests, and was applauded.
    I served them supper, and they were all very merry, His Lordship taking off his wig, saying it was damnable hot, and telling stories about the people they all knew at the English court. And I was glad to see them happy, for I guessed that, although they had a great position in New York, the governor and his lady must miss the theater and the court and their friends in London.

    It seemed that His Lordship was pleased with the evening. For a month later, he arranged another. I helped him prepare, and he struggled considerably with Her Ladyship’s dress, which was too tight for him. “We shall have to do something about this,” he said to me.
    This time he had two gentlemen from the great Dutch families of the English party, a van Cortlandt and a Philipse. They were much astonished when the queen entered, and neither of them having seen that lady, for a minute or two they did not realize the jest. I don’t think they enjoyed His Lordship’s performance, though, being polite, they didn’t say so.
    As before, this took place in the governor’s house in the fort; and after the guests were gone, His Lordship had a desire to take the air, and told me to come with him up on the battlement of the fort that looked over the harbor.
    It was a fine night, with the stars sparkling in the sky over the water.There was one sentry up there. He glanced at us, supposing that it must be Her Ladyship; and then, realizing it was not, he stared harder, but he couldn’t make out who this tall lady was, in the dark.
    “It must have been here,” His Lordship remarked to me, “that Stuyvesant stood when the English came to take the city.”
    “I believe so, My Lord,” I said.
    He stayed there a while, and then we walked back. As we passed the sentry, the governor said, “Goodnight.” And hearing a man’s voice, I saw that sentry almost jump out of his skin. He was certainly staring after us as we departed. And after we came down, I said to His Lordship that the sentry had been astonished hearing a man’s voice coming from a lady, and that I wondered if he would realize who it was. But His Lordship just laughed and said, “Did we give him a fright?” And then I understood that in his heart, being such an aristocrat, the governor didn’t think it mattered what the sentry thought. And I realized this was a weakness in him.
    From these evenings I also understood two other things. The first, that it pleased His Lordship to remind people that the queen was his cousin and that he looked like her. The second, that, as Queen Anne or not, he liked to dress as a woman.

    Anyway, I was in favor with the governor after this; and he had not forgotten that it was through the van Dyck family that I had come to him. For one day he summoned Jan to the fort. I was serving in the room when Jan came in. There were a number of government contracts to be given out at that time, and His Lordship calmly picked up one of them, and handed it to him.
    “You served me well in selling me Quash,” he said. “Perhaps you could supply Her Majesty’s government these goods.”
    As Jan read the contract, I saw his eyes open wide.
    “Your Lordship is very kind,” he answered. “I am in your debt.”
    “Then perhaps,” said His Lordship, “you’d like to do something for me.” And he waited.
    “I should like very much,” said Jan warmly, “to give Your Lordship fifty pounds, if Your Lordship would do me the honor of accepting it.”
    So His Lordship graciously said he would. And all this was very interesting to me, as explaining how the business of government is done.

    I continued to study His Lordship carefully, as to how I might please him; and soon after this I had a lucky chance when, passing one of the tailors in Dock Street, I saw in a store a large silk petticoat which I estimated might fit His Lordship very well. Having always kept any money which came my way, I had no