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is extensive, and enriched by valuable fruit trees and shrubs. The splendid orange and myrtle trees that once adorned the green house, were formerly in the possession of Mrs. Macomb of Kings-bridge. The green sward sloping gradually to the Hudson, is here and there dotted with fine specimens of ornamental trees; this, during the occupancy of the Philipse's, was emparked and stocked with deer. Among other exotics (which seem to thrive here,) we noticed on the edge of the river the English yew; judging from its appearance and the exposed situation which it occupies, we should say it was quite hardy enough to endure our coldest winters. We should be glad to see this beautiful tree, whose dark yerdure never fails, naturalized in the gardens of Westchester.

In this Mansion the lords of the manor on the great rent days, feasted their tenantry. Some idea inay be formed of this establishment which maintained thirty white and twenty colored servants. There appears to have been two rent days yearly for the manor of Philipsborough. One in January, held at Yonkers for the convenience of the lower tenantry; another a few days subsequent at Sleepy hollow, for the upper.

In lieu of rent was frequently received a couple of fat hens, a day's work, or a trifling sum amounting to three or four pounds. The farmers bordering the river having greater privileges, paid higher rents. The Courts Leet and Baron were held yearly at the house of John Cockles, the site of the present Nap-pe-cka-mak tavern. This court took cognizance of all criminal matters, and sometimes inflicted punishments that were even capital. In the administration of justice the baronial lord presided, either in his own person or that of his steward.

In the Manor Hall, July 3d, 1730, was born Mary Philipse, daughter of the Hon. Frederick Philipse, speaker of the House of Assembly and lord of the manor of Philipsborough. "From this lady's character Fenimore Cooper formed the heroine of the Spy, under the name of Frances, (see the interesting account of her in that work.) It is said that she refused the hand of Washington, who was greatly attached to her; she subsequently married Col. Roger Morris, 15th January, 1758. This individual greatly distinguished himself during the first American VOL. II.

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war, and was wounded in the battle of Monongahela river; on which occasion General Braddock was killed with most of his officers. In that engagement George Washington, Robert Orme, and Roger Morris, Esqrs., were aids to Braddock."a "At the commencement of the Revolution he was a member of the Council of the Colony, and continued in office until the peace, although the Whigs organized a government as early as 1777, under a written and well framed constitution."

"A part of the Philips estate, (observes Mr. Şabine,) was in possession of Colonel Morris in right of his wife, and was confiscated; and that the whole interest should pass under the act, Mrs. Morris was included in the attainder. It is believed that this lady, her sisters, Mrs. Robinson, and Mrs. Inglis, were the only females who were attainted of treason during the struggle. But it appeared in due time, that the confiscation act did not affect the rights of Mrs. Morris's children. The fee simple of the estate was valued by the British government at £20,000; and by the rules of determining the worth of life interests, the life interest of Col. Morris and his wife were fixed at £12,605, for which sum they received a certificate of compensation.

"In 1787, the attorney general of England examined the case, and gave the opinion, that the reversionary interest (or property of the children at the decease of the parents,) was not included in their attainder, and was recoverable under the principles of law and of right. In the year 1809, their son, Captain Henry Gage Morris of the royal navy, in behalf of himself and his two sisters, accordingly sold this reversionary interest to John Jacob Astor, Esquire, of New York, for the sum of £20,000 sterling. In 1828 Mr. Astor made a compromise with the State of New York, by which he received for the rights thus purchased by him (with or without associates,) the large amount of five hundred thousand dollars. The terms of the arrangement required, that within a specified time he should execute a deed of conveyance in fee simple, with warrantee against the claims of the Morrises-husband and wife-their heirs, and all persons claiming under them; and that he should also obtain the judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States affirming the validity and perfectibility of his title. These conditions were complied with, and the respectable body of farmers who held the confiscated lands under titles derived from the sales of the commissioners of forfeitures, were thus quieted in their possessions.

"Colonel Morris died in England in 1794, aged sixty-seven, and Mary his widow died in 1825, at the age of ninety-six. Their remains were deposited near Savior-gate Church, York. Their son, above mentioned, erected a

Burke's Hist. of the Landed Gentry of England, vol. iv. 490.

monument to their memory. It is understood that the British government made them a second compensation for their losses, and that the whole sum received was £17,000 sterling. Their children were as follows: Henry Gage, a captain in the royal navy; Amherst, who was named for his godfather Lord Amherst, who was also a captain in the royal navy, and who died unmarried in 1802; Johanna, who married Captain Thomas Cowper Hincks of the British dragoons, and who died in 1819; and another daughter whose name and fate have not been ascertained. To the memory of Captain Amherst Morris, there is a monument at Baildon, England. Of Captain Henry Gage Morris, honorable mention is made in the British naval history. Of Mrs. Morris's early life, there is a most interesting incident. That Washington had some desire to become her suitor, is a fact which rests on the highest authority.

"In Mr. Sparks' life of the illustrious commander-in-chief, there is the following passage: 'While in New York in 1756, Washington was lodged and kindly entertained at the house of Mr. Beverley Robinson, between whom and himself an intimacy of friendship subsisted, which indeed continued without change, till severed by their opposite fortunes twenty years afterwards in the Revolution. It happened that Miss Mary Philips, a sister of Mrs. Robinson, and a young lady of rare accomplishments, was an inmate in the family. The charms of this lady made a deep impression upon the heart of the Virginia Colonel. He went to Boston, returned, and was again welcomed to the hospitality of Mr. Robinson. He lingered there till duty called him away; but he was careful to entrust his secret to a confidential friend, whose letters kept him informed of every important event. In a few months intelligence came that a rival was in the field, and that the consequences could not be answered for if he delayed to renew his visits to New York. Whether time, the bustle of the camp, or the scenes of war, had moderated his admiration, or whether he despaired of success, is not known. He never saw the lady again till she was married to that same rival, Captain Morris, his former associate in arms, and one of Braddock's aids-de-camp.

"In an English work, shown to me by Mrs. Morris's relatives in New Brunswick, it is stated that she refused Washington. But this is very doubtful; and the passage just cited, which is founded upon Washington's papers, seems to utterly disprove the assertion. Imagination dwells upon the outlawry of a lady whose beauty and virtues won the admiration of the great Whig Chief. Humanity is shocked that a woman was attainted of treason, for no crime but that of clinging to the fortunes of her husband whom she had vowed on the altar of religion never to desert."

See also Historical view of the

The American Loyalists, by Lorenzo Sabine. commission for inquiry into the losses and claims of the American Loyalists, hy John Eardley Wilmot, Esq., London, 1815.

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