George Clinton, . . . and Sir Guy Carleton . . . met to confer, etc., etc. Both of the statements quoted above are mislead- ing. The house referred to is not the Livingston family- seat, but was acquired by Mr. Van Brugh Livingston about 1823. If any part of it was standing during the War for Independence, it was the small rear por- tion. One authority states that the interview between Washington and Carleton took place on board of a British vessel in the river, but this seems strikingly improbable. On the water, near Dobbs Ferry, in 1781, there was a^^ sharp engagement between some British and American guard-boats. Almost immediately following this skir- mish two gunboats ascended the river from New York, with the evident intention of cutting out the vessels congregated near the ferry, but they were discovered and driven away by shot from the shore batteries. Dobbs Ferry was in the heart of that debatable region known as the neutral ground, the inhabitants of which were so harried and impoverished that, ac- cording to a record left by a traveller of that time, they seemed almost without hope or ambition; silent, apathetic, regarding every man as a possible foe. Digitized by Microsoft® 230 The Hudson River To-day the place is a collection of attractive cotmtry- seats, and its inhabitants, like those of most of the river towns within thirty-five miles of New York, are largely dependent upon the city for their social enter- tainment and business life. In the neighbourhood of Dobbs Ferry, a little way to the north, is the comparatively new station of Ardsley-on-the-Hudson, where is a fashionable and attractive inn, or club-house, with all the modern allurements of golf course, etc. The establishment takes its name from that of Cyrus W. Field's former estate, upon a portion of which it is built. Mr. Field will be remembered, when his eminence as a factor in the financial world may be forgotten, as the man whose energy and persistence in the face of obstacles succeeded in laying the first Atlantic cable. His home was in what some one has called the great millionaire belt of the east shore of the Hudson. For mile upon mile the prospect along shore is that of magnificent residences and highly developed grounds. Although it is no part of our purpose to fill these pages with a descriptive list of the mansions that mul- tiply till they suggest a celestial comparison, yet we think that no American will quarrel with us for making one exception. There is a white- walled house that overlooks the river between Irvington and Tarrytown. It is a noticeable landmark, in its outlines suggesting the gothic dignity of some ecclesiastical edifice by the Thames, rather than a dwelling on the Hudson. An Digitized by Microsoft® In the Land of Irving 231 older house, incl-uded within its- -^v^lTs, was built in 1840 by General William Paulding, the brother of James K. Paulding. But its chief interest is in the fact that it is the property and residence of Miss Helen Gould. No one has ever numbered the charities that have flowed from Lyndhurst since Miss Gould, of whom we love to think as a typical American woman, became the mistress of its pleasant acres. Her home is palatial, but it was not considered too good to be the resting-place for convalescent soldiers, broken down by a Cuban campaign; her conservatories are remarkable even in this neighbourhood of millionaires, but they are not too fine to be open with a welcome to the poorest child that seeks admission. Lyndhurst means a forest of linden trees, but its park-like lawns are shaded by nearly all of the orna- mental trees that will thrive in our latitude, and it has naturally become one of the show-places of a region of parks. Lyndhurst lies between Irvington, which is, perhaps, the choicest residence section of the river shore, in some respects, and Tarry town. The early history of the latter place has been already touched upon in the reference made to the Manor Lord, Filipse, who built his strong house near the Pocantico in 1683 or 1684, and soon afterwards erected the stone church which became world famous as the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, now the oldest church building in use in New York State. Digitized by Microsoft® 232 The Hudson River The Revolutionary history of Tarrytown is in the main that of all other hamlets within the neutral ter- ritory. It was overridden and pillaged, property and life were never safe for an hour, and famine, sickness, and terror were the portion of most of the inhabitants. The British threatened to destroy stores near the vil- lage and made one or two attempts to do so, landing in force