Salmagundi; or, The whim-whams and opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, esq. [pseud.] and others. By William Irving, James Kirke Paulding and Washington Irving. Printed from the original ed., with a preface and notes by Evert A. Duyckinck.

MY UNCLE JOHN. 221
my readers-good-natured souls that they are!-should, in the
ardor of peeping into millstones, take my uncle for an old acquaintance, I here inform them, that the old gentleman died a great
many years ago, and it is impossible they should ever have known
him. I pity them-for they would have known a good-natured,
benevolent man, whose example might have been of service.
The last time I saw my uncle John, was fifteen years ago,
when I paid him a visit at his old mansion. I found him reading a newspaper-for it was election-time, and he was always a
warm federalist, and had made several converts to the true
political faith in his time; particularly one old tenant who
always, just before the election, became a violent anti - in
order that he might be convinced of his errors by my uncle, who
never failed to reward his conviction by some substantial
benefit.
After we had settled the affairs of the nation, and I had paid
my respects to the old family chroniclers in the kitchen —an
indispensable ceremony-the old gentleman exclaimed, with
heartfelt glee, " Well, I suppose you are for a trout-fishing; I
have got everything prepared; but first you must take a walk
with me to see my improvements." I was obliged to consent;
though I knew my uncle would lead me a most villainous dance,
and in all probability treat me to a quagmire, or a tumble into
a ditch. If my readers choose to accompany me in this expedition, they are welcome; if not, let them stay at home like lazy
fellows-and sleep-or be hanged.
Though I had been absent several years, yet there was very
little alteration in the scenery, and every object retained the
same features it bore when I was a school-boy: for it was in
this spot that I grew up in the fear of ghosts, and in the breaking of many of the ten commandments. The brook, or river, as