but a quarter of a mile further on is the place
that, of all others, along the Post Road, retains the old-time
atmosphere, the "Heermance" place, built on Hendrick Kip's south lot
in 1700. This is the house that Lossing says was erected by William
Beekman. The place soon (1716) passed into the possession of Hendricus
Heermance, and in due course to Henry Beekman, whose daughter became
the mother of Chancellor Livingston.

A distinct line on the east end of the present building seems to
indicate that the original house was very small; the heavy sashes and
the distorted little window panes of this old part read a clear title
back to the early days, which is duly confirmed by the iridescent
condition of the glass. Under the eaves, looking toward the river,
were once two portholes; no indications remain of one, but the other
is a round opening large enough for the muzzle of a small cannon, but
so close to the roof as to make it seem improbable that it was ever
intended for purposes of defense. The present tenant remembers when
this was a jagged hole without form or comeliness, though at present
it is a clean, round opening, and this suggests that there may be
something in Lossing's story that the hole was made by a cannon ball
from one of General Vaughan's sloops of war in 1777, though local
authorities do not appear to place much credence in this theory.

[Sidenote: _RHINECLIFF._]

The road continues south for some two miles through and beyond
Rhinecliff, traversing beautiful woods bordering Ex-Governor Morton's
grounds, but before entering the woods comes a delightful outlook
toward Kingston and its mountain background that is all the more
pleasing for its unexpectedness. Still further, and opposite a
schoolhouse, a road strikes off toward the south, and here is the
entrance to Wildercliff.

The Rev. Freeborn Garrettson, being invited to Rhinebeck to preach,
met Catherine Livingston while there, and in 1793 they were married.
Six years later they purchased a place on the banks of the Hudson,
calling it Wildercliff--Wilder Klipp, a Dutch word meaning wild man's
cliff, from the fact that early settlers found on a smooth rock on the
river shore a rough tracing of two Indians with tomahawk and calumet.
Garrettson was educated in the Church of England, but left it to
become a Methodist; a man of strong personality, he soon rose to a
prominent place in the church. Being a native of Maryland, he was
naturally a slave owner