Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/721

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PAULDING
PAULDING
681

instead of laboring myself, I sit in the shade watch- ing the labors of others, which I find quite suffi- cient exercise." In August, 1858, he said to the author of this article : " I have been to New York but once in ten years, and rarely go farther from home than Poughkeepsie to visit your father. . . . The world has not done me justice as an author. I shall leave ray works to posterity and to my son William, who can do what he thinks best with them." He pointed out the original, by Joseph Wood, of the portrait that appears on a previous page, and in answer to the question if that or any other picture had been engraved, he said : "I would never consent to have any portrait engraved for the periodicals. While I was secretary of the navy the publisher of the ' Democratic Review ' wanted to put in one of his damned scurvy lamp-black portraits of me."

The echoes of the eloquent eulogies pronoimced by Bryant and Everett on the name of Washing- ton Irving at the New York academy of music on 3 April, 1860, had scarcely reached the home of Paulding when he too was called away, and it re- quires no stretch of fancy to imagine that he only lingered to gather and carry to his friend the grate- ful homage of their common country. The hand of Spring was laid on the elder, whom Winter had spared. Paulding passed away peacefully early in the evening of 6 April, having, by reason of strength, attained to more than fourscore years, and died, like Irving, in his own happy home, surrounded by those who were most near and dear to him. A few days later his remains were interred in Greenwood cemetery, near New York. Under the title of " Literary Life of James K. Paulding," his literary executor gave to the world in 1867 a record and pleasant picture, not only of his father, but of many of his associates — Gouverneur Kemble, Henry Bre- voort, Ebenezer, William, and Washington Irving, Harry Ogden, and others, who some fourscore years ago had charming frolics at "Cockloft Hall," on the banks of the Passaic, near Newark, N. J. This volume was followed by four others containing such of Paulding's writings as his son deemed most worthy of preservation, including a post- humous volume entitled "A Book of Vagaries." Thus, by the aid of extracts from his autobiography, correspondence, essays, and other works, the career of Mr. Paulding is seen both as an author and a public man, and it is clearly shown that he is en- titled to the son's memorial by his constant love of nature, his hearty patriotism, and his characteristic originality. His principal works are " The Divert- ing History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan " (New York, 1812) ; "The Lay of the Scotch Fiddle" (1813); "The Backwoodsman" (1818), his longest and best poem ; " Salmagundi " (1819'-20), a second series wholly by himself ; " A Sketch of Old England by a New England Man" (1822); "Koningsmarke, the Long Finne" (1823) ; "John Bull in America, or the New Munchausen" (1825) ; "The Merry Tales of the Three Wise Men of Gotham" (1826); "The New Mirror for Travel- lers" (1828); "Tales of the Good Woman, by a Doubtful Gentleman " (1829) : " Chronicles of the City of Gotham, from the Papers of a Retired Common Councilman" (1830); " The Dutchman's Fireside " (1831) ; " Westward Ho ! " (1832) ; a " Life of George Washington " (1835) ; " View of Slavery in the United States" (1836); "The Book of St. Nicholas" (1837); "A Gift from Fairy Land" (1838). illustrated by John G. Chapman ; "The Old Continental, or the Price of Liberty " (1846); "The Puritan and his Daughter" (1849); also, edited by his son, " Select Works " (4 vols.. New York, 1867-'8).


PAULDING, John, patriot, b. in New York city in 1758; d. in Staatsburg, Dutchess co., N. Y., 18 Feb., 1818. He served throughout the war of the Revolution, and was three times taken prisoner by the British. A few days after his escape from his second im- prisonment he assist- ed in capturing John Andre. Paulding, Isaac Van Wart, and David Williams were, on 23 Sept., 1780, pa- trolling the east bank of the Hudson river, in seai-ch of the Tory depredators, known as cow-boys, and when Andre, who was on his way back to the British lines after his interview with Benedict Arnold, had

reached a point within

half a mile of Tarrytown, Paulding sprang out of a thicket, where he had been secreted with his comoanions, presented a firelock at Andre's breast, and asked which way he was going. Supposing the men to be cow-boys, Andre replied : " Cientle- men, I hope you belong to our party % " " Which party i " asked Paulding. " The lower party," said Andre. Paulding replied that he did. " Then," said Andre, " I am a British officer, out on particu- lar business, and I hope you will not detain me a minute." Upon this Paulding ordered him to dis- mount. Seeing that he had made a mistake, Andre then produced a pass that had been given to him by Arnold, adding : " By stopping me you will de- tain the general's business." Paulding then apolo- gized for his action, and said that they did not mean to take anything from him. He, however, added that there were " many bad people going along the road ; perhaps you may be one of them." On being further questioned, Andre declared that he carried no letters. He was, however, taken among the bushes and searched, when three parcels were discovered undei- each stocking. Among these were a plan of the fortifications of West Point, a memorial from the engineer on the attack and de- fence of that place, and returns of the garrison, cannon, and stores, in Arnold's handwriting. He was then asked by Williams whether he would give his horse, saddle, bridle, watch, and 100 guineas to be released. He eagerly promised these, and any sum of money, or quantity of dry-goods, his captors might name, when Paulding interfered, saying: " No. by God, if you would give us 10,000 guineas you should not stir a step." The three men took their prisoner to the nearest military post at North Castle, and delivered him to the officer in command. They then went away without claiming any reward, or even leaving their names. On being asked sub- sequently during the trial of Joshua Hett Smith, who had rowed Andre from the *• Vulture " to meet Arnold and had left him just previous to his cap- ture, why he did not release his prisoner when the pass was shown, he replied: " Because he said be- fore he was a British officer. Had he pulled out Gen. Arnold's pass first, I should have let him go." Washington sought out the three men who, " lean- ing only on their virtue and an honest sense of their duty," could not be tempted by gold. On his rec- ommendation congress presented to each a silver medal, bearing on one side the word " Fidelity " and on the other the legend " Vincit amor patriae,"