f fine
and coarse gravel and coarse and fine sand, are in existence. In many
places between Albany and Troy the navigable depth is reduced to 71/2
feet by the presence of these bars.

From Albany to New Baltimore the depths are variable, the prevailing
depth being 10 feet and over, with pools of greater depth separated by
long cross-over bars, over which the greatest depth does not exceed
9 or 10 feet. Passing many delightful homes on the west bank and the
mouth of the Norman's Kill (Indian name Ta-wa-sentha, place of many
dead) and the Convent of the Sacred Heart, we see Dow's Point on the
east and above this the--

=Van Rensselaer Place=, with its port holes on either side of the door
facing the river, showing that it was built in troublesome times.
It is the oldest of the Patroon manor houses, built in 1640 or
thereabouts. It has been said that the adaptation of the old tune now
known as "Yankee Doodle" was made near the well in the grounds of the
Van Rensselaer Place by Dr. Richard Shuckberg, who was connected with
the British army when the Colonial troops from New England marched
into camp at Albany to join the British regulars on their way to fight
the French. The tune was known in New England before the Revolution as
"Lydia Fisher's Jig," a name derived from a famous lady who lived
in the reign of Charles II, and which has been perpetuated in the
following rhyme:

Lucy Locket lost her pocket,
Lydia Fisher found it;
Not a bit of money in it,
Only binding 'round it.

The appearance of the troops called down the derision of the British
officers, the hit of the doctor became known throughout the army, and
the song was used as a method of showing contempt for the Colonials
until after Lexington and Concord.

* * *

When life is old
And many a scene forgot the heart will hold
Its memory of this.

_Fitz-Greene Halleck._

* * *

=Rensselaer=, on the east bank of the river, was incorporated in 1896
by the union of Greenbush and East Albany. The old name of Greenbush,
which still survives in East Greenbush, four miles distant, was given
to it by the old Dutch settlers, and it was probably a "green-bushed"
place in early days. Now pleasant residences and villas look out upon
the river from the near bank and distant hillsides. Two railroad
bridges and a carriage bridge cross the Hudson at this point. During
the French war in 1775, Greenbush was a military rend