The pedagogue’s mouth watered as he looked upon this sumptuous promise of luxurious winter fare. In his devouring mind’s eye, he pictured to himself every roasting-pig running about with a pudding in his belly, and an apple in his mouth; the pigeons were snugly put to bed in a comfortable pie, and tucked in with a coverlet of crust; the geese were swimming in their own gravy; and the ducks pairing cosily in dishes, like snug married couples, with a decent competency of onion sauce. In the porkers he saw carved out the future sleek side of bacon, and juicy relishing ham; not a turkey but he beheld daintily trussed up, with its gizzard under its wing, and, peradventure, a necklace of savory sausages; and even bright chanticleer himself lay sprawling on his back, in a side dish, with uplifted claws, as if craving that quarter which his chivalrous spirit disdained to ask while living.
As the enraptured Ichabod fancied all this,and as he rolled his great green eyes over the fat meadow lands,the rich fields of wheat, of rye, of buckwheat,and Indian corn, and the orchards burdened with ruddy fruit,which surrounded the warm tenement of Van Tassel,his heart yearned after the damsel who was to inherit these domains,and his imagination expanded with the idea,how they might be readily turned into cash,and the money invested in immense tracts of wild land,and shingle palaces in the wilderness. Nay,his busy fancy already realized his hopes,and presented to him the blooming Katrina,with a whole family of children,mounted on the top of a wagon loaded with household trumpery,with pots and kettles dangling beneath;and he beheld himself bestriding a pacing mare,with a colt at her heels, setting out for Kentucky,Tennessee,--or the Lord knows where!
When he entered the house,the conquest of his heart was complete.It was one of those spacious farmhouses,with high-ridged but lowly sloping roofs,built in the style handed down from the first Dutch settlers;the low projecting eaves forming a piazza along the front,capable of being closed up in bad weather.Under this were hung flails, harness,various utensils of husbandry,and nets for fishing in the neighboring river.Benches were built along the sides for summer use;and a great spinning-wheel at one end,and a churn at the other,showed the various uses to which this important porch might be devoted.From this piazza the wondering Ichabod entered the hall,which formed the centre of the mansion,and the place of usual residence.Here rows of resplendent pewter,ranged on a long dresser, dazzled his eyes.In one corner stood a huge bag of wool,ready to be spun; in another,a quantity of linsey-woolsey just from the loom;ears of Indian corn,and strings of dried apples and peaches,hung in gay festoons along the walls,mingled with the gaud of red peppers;and a door left ajar gave him a peep into the best parlor,where the claw-footed chairs and dark mahogany tables shone like mirrors;andirons, with their accompanying shovel and tongs,glistened from their covert of asparagus tops;mock-oranges and conch-shells decorated the mantelpiece;strings of various-colored birds eggs were suspended above it;a great ostrich egg was hung from the centre of the room,and a corner cupboard, knowingly left open,displayed immense treasures of old silver and well-mended china.
From the moment Ichabod laid his eyes upon these regions of delight,the peace of his mind was at an end,and his only study was how to gain the affections of the peerless daughter of Van Tassel. In this enterprise, however, he had more real difficulties than generally fell to the lot of a knight-errant of yore, who seldom had anything but giants, enchanters, fiery dragons, and such like easily conquered adversaries, to contend with and had to make his way merely through gates of iron and brass, and walls of adamant to the castle keep, where the lady of his heart was confined; all which he achieved as easily as a man would carve his way to the centre of a Christmas pie; and then the lady gave him her hand as a matter of course. Ichabod, on the contrary, had to win his way to the heart of a country coquette, beset with a labyrinth of whims and caprices, which were forever presenting new difficulties and impediments; and he had to encounter a host of fearful adversaries of real flesh and blood, the numerous rustic admirers, who beset every portal to her heart, keeping a watchful and angry eye upon each other, but ready to fly out in the common cause against any new competitor.
Among these, the most formidable was a burly, roaring,roystering blade, of the name of Abraham, or,according to the Dutch abbreviation, Brom Van Brunt,the hero of the country round,which rang with his feats of strength and hardihood.He was broad-shouldered and double-jointed,with short curly black hair,and a bluff but not unpleasant countenance,having a mingled air of fun and arrogance.From his Herculean frame and great powers of limb he had received the nickname of BROM BONES, by which he was universally known. He was famed for great knowledge and skill in horsemanship, being as dexterous on horseback as a Tartar. He was foremost at all races and cock fights; and, with the ascendancy which bodily strength always acquires in rustic life, was the umpire in all disputes, setting his hat on one side, and giving his decisions with an air and tone that admitted of no gainsay or appeal. He was always ready for either a fight or a frolic; but had more mischief than ill-will in his composition; and with all his overbearing roughness, there was a strong dash of waggish good humor at bottom. He had three or four boon companions, who regarded him as their model, and at the head of whom he scoured the country, attending every scene of feud or merriment for miles round. In cold weather he was distinguished by a fur cap, surmounted with a flaunting fox’s tail; and when the folks at a country gathering descried this well-known crest at a distance, whisking about among a squad of hard riders, they always stood by for a squall. Sometimes his crew would be heard dashing along past the farmhouses at midnight, with whoop and halloo, like a troop of Don Cossacks; and the old dames, startled out of their sleep, would listen for a moment till the hurry-scurry had clattered by, and then exclaim, “Ay, there goes Brom Bones and his gang!” The neighbors looked upon him with a mixture of awe,admiration, and good-will; and,when any madcap prank or rustic brawl occurred in the vicinity,always shook their heads,and warranted Brom Bones was at the bottom of it.
This rantipole hero had for some time singled out the blooming Katrina for the object of his uncouth gallantries, and though his amorous toyings were something like the gentle caresses and endearments of a bear, yet it was whispered that she did not altogether discourage his hopes. Certain it is, his advances were signals for rival candidates to retire, who felt no inclination to cross a lion in his amours; insomuch, that when his horse was seen tied to Van Tassel’s paling, on a Sunday night, a sure sign that his master was courting, or, as it is termed, “sparking,” within, all other suitors passed by in despair, and carried the war into other quarters.
Such was the formidable rival with whom Ichabod Crane had to contend,and, considering all things,a stouter man than he would have shrunk from the competition,and a wiser man would have despaired. He had, however,a happy mixture of pliability and perseverance in his nature;he was in form and spirit like a supple-jack--yielding,but tough; though he bent, he never broke;and though he bowed beneath the slightest pressure,yet, the moment it was away--jerk!--he was as erect, and carried his head as high as ever.