ed them, and dispatched our letters by the same
person who brought theirs, and who was to return on the

_14th, Wednesday_, and with whom we sent the translation of the
_Verheffinge des Geestes_ with a small package of knitted
baby-clothes. The ship _Beaver_ came out of Deutel Bay, and was up for
Europe and Holland immediately. Therefore, on the

_15th, Thursday_, we began writing to our friends in the Fatherland.
The winter gradually passing away, the weather was during the last of
February, and first of March, as pleasant as it were the month of May.
I finished the translation of the _Decades_.

MARCH _2d, Saturday._ M. de la Grange has chartered a yacht to go to
the South River, with a lot of merchandise, and to take to his land
there the boor, whom he had brought for that purpose from the
Fatherland. This person came from near Sluis,[298] and had done
nothing here as yet, because De la Grange had not gone to Tinaconcq,
as he had first intended. He designed to take him now to the land he
had bought on Christina Kill, and have it put in order. He had
obtained exemption from tax on his merchandise, and was the first one
who had enjoyed this advantage, that is, from the second tax, he
having paid the first tax when the goods were unladen here. All
merchandise pays a second tax when it is sent to the South River, or
Albany. I gave him _Les Paroles de Salut_[299] for Heer Johan Moll,
who had urgently requested us to send him some religious book or
other, writing to him what was necessary on the subject.

[Footnote 298: Sluis in Staats-Vlanderen, now in Zeeland.]

[Footnote 299: What appears to be the Dutch version of this,
_Handboekje van Godsaligheid_, by Labadie, was published at Amsterdam
in 1680.]

We had waited till this time to go to Ackquekanon, either on account
of the weather, or because it was not convenient for the persons on
Long Island. We finally determined to go with Gerrit, who could speak
very good Indian, and who had sent word to us from Long Island, that
we must be at Simon's house in Gouanes for that purpose on Sunday
morning in order to go in his boat. We accordingly prepared ourselves.

_3d, Sunday._ We both went over to Long Island, at eight o'clock; and
as we were entering the ferry boat, Madame de la Grange came aboard
with her nephew, Kasparus Reinderman, who, when they had landed, took
a wagon and rode on to the bay. We went through Breukelen to Gouanes,
where we arrived about ten o'cloc