The following day, Governor Winthrop of Connecticut arrived in a boat. I saw him. He was a small, dark-featured man. And he had another letter from Colonel Nicolls. He and Governor Stuyvesant went into a tavern to discuss it. By now all the merchants were down by the waterfront wanting to know what was going on and the Boss went there too. When he came back he said that some of the merchants had discovered from Governor Winthrop’s men that the English were offering very easy terms if Governor Stuyvesant would give them the town; so after Winthrop left, they demanded of Governor Stuyvesant that he show them the English letter. But instead of showing the letter, Governor Stuyvesant tore it up in their faces; and they were mighty angry. But they took the pieces of that letter and they put them together again. Whereat they found the English were ready to let them keep all their Dutch customs and all their wealth, and let everything go on just exactly the same as before, so long as Governor Stuyvesant would give them the town without any trouble. So that’s what they all wanted to do. Except Governor Stuyvesant, that is.

The Mistress was all for Governor Stuyvesant.

“He did right,” she cried. “He’s the only man among you all.” And she called the merchants a pack of mongrel dogs and some other things I won’t repeat.

Just then someone in the street started shouting, “The English are coming.” And we all ran out and sure enough down at the waterfront we saw the English gunships coming across the harbor toward us. And by and by they lay off the town, with their cannon pointing at us; and they stayed there, just letting us know what they could do if they had a mind to.

Well, the next morning the merchants all signed a petition to the governor telling him to surrender. The Mistress asked the Boss, did he mean to sign, and he said, “I do.” Even Governor Stuyvesant’s own son signed it, which must have been a bitter blow to his father. But still he wasn’t giving in. And we all went down to the fort, and we saw the governor up on the ramparts alone, standing by one of the cannons, with his white hair flying in the wind, and the Boss said: “Damn it, I think he means to fire the cannon himself.” And just then we saw two of the dominies go up and plead with him not to do it, for fear of destroying us all. And finally, being men of God, they persuaded him to come down. So that was how the English got the place.