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The Beauties of Washington Irving, Illustr. by G. Cruikshank
The Beauties of Washington Irving Illustr by G Cruikshank Author:Washington Irving General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1884 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: DIRK SCHT!TLER AND THE VALIANT PETER. Whoever first described common feme, or rumour, as belonging to the sager sex, was a very owl from shrewdness. She has in truth certain feminine qualities to an astonishing degree; particularly that benevolent anxiety to take care of the affairs of others, which keeps her continuaily hunting after secrets, and gadding about proclaiming them. Whatever is done openly, and in the face of the world, she takes but transient notice of; but whenever a transaction is done in a corner, and attempted to be shrouded in mystery, then her goddess-ship is at her wit's end to find it out, and takes a most mischievous and lady-like pleasure in publishing it to the world. It is this truly feminine propensity that induces her continually to be prying into cabinets of princes, listening at the key-holes of senate chambers, and peering through chinks and crannies, when our worthy congress are sitting with closed doors, deliberating between a dozen excellent modes of ruining the nation. It is this which makes us so obnoxious to all wary statesmen and intriguing commanders -- such a stumbling-block to private negotiations, and secret expeditions, she often betrays by means and instruments which never would have been thought of by any but a female head. Thus it was in the case of the affair of Fort Casimir. No doubt tho cunning Risin(h imagined that by securing the garrison, he should for a long time prevent the history of its fate from reaching the ears of the gallant Stuyvesant; hut his exploit was blown to the world when he least expected it, and by one of the last beings he would e...« less