e colony, and that here he did the
public printing, as well as such books and psalms, tracts and
almanacs, and such like things as he had time for. These were all
queer, rough-lettered, black-lined pamphlets, and none was more quaint
than John Clapp's _Almanac_, the first which came from the press and
the first written in the city.

John Clapp had time without end to write this almanac, and yet no one
ever knew just when he did it. He was the keeper of the inn in the
Bouwerie Village, and, having more idle moments than busy ones, he
spent most of his time on the broad stoop of the inn, pipe in mouth,
looking first at the house where Peter Stuyvesant had lived, then at
the dusty road leading away up country towards the King's Bridge in
one direction, and down country towards the town. But write it he did,
and Bradford printed it, and John Clapp was shrewd enough to advertise
himself well by writing in his Table of Contents concerning his
tavern:

It is two miles from the city, and is generally the baiting
place where gentlemen take leave of their friends, and where
a parting glass or two of generous wine

If well applied makes dull horses feel
One spur in the head is worth two in the heel.

Again, in a Chronological Table, under the June date, he made the
interesting announcement:

The 24th of this month is celebrated the feast of St. John
the Baptist, in commemoration of which (and to keep up a
happy union and lasting friendship by the sweet harmony of
good society) a feast is held by the _Johns_ of this city,
at John Clapp's in the Bouwerie, where any gentleman whose
name is John may find a hearty welcome to join in concert
with his namesakes.

In response to this there came such a large gathering as would make it
seem that all the townsmen had been baptized by one name.

It was by an odd slip that the only important book planned and partly
written in these last years of the seventeenth century was not printed
by Bradford. More than once had the Episcopal minister, the Rev. John
Miller, talked with this first printer of his plan for a history of
the colony which he was then writing. This would have been carried
out, beyond all doubt, if the clergyman had not just then decided to
go to England to settle some troublesome Church matters, taking his
history with him. As ill-fortune would have it, the ship in which he
sailed was captured by the