The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Annotated)

This is an annotated version of the book1. contains an updated biography of the author at the end of the book for a better understanding of the text.2. This book has been checked and corrected for spelling errorsIn the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent the easternshore of the Hudson, at that broad expansion of the river denominatedby the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan Zee, and where they alwaysprudently shortened sail and implored the protection of St. Nicholaswhen they crossed, there lies a small market town or rural port, whichby some is called Greensburgh, but which is more generally and properlyknown by the name of Tarry Town. This name was given, we are told, informer days, by the good housewives of the adjacent country, from theinveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the villagetavern on market days. Be that as it may, I do not vouch for the fact,but merely advert to it, for the sake of being precise and authentic.Not far from this village, perhaps about two miles, there is a littlevalley or rather lap of land among high hills, which is one of thequietest places in the whole world. A small brook glides through it,with just murmur enough to lull one to repose; and the occasionalwhistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker is almost the only soundthat ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquillity.I recollect that, when a stripling, my first exploit insquirrel-shooting was in a grove of tall walnut-trees that shades oneside of the valley. I had wandered into it at noontime, when all natureis peculiarly quiet, and was startled by the roar of my own gun, as itbroke the Sabbath stillness around and was prolonged and reverberatedby the angry echoes. If ever I should wish for a retreat whither I mightsteal from the world and its distractions, and dream quietly away theremnant of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than thislittle valley.From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of itsinhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, thissequestered glen has long been known by the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW, andits rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all theneighboring country. A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over theland, and to pervade the very atmosphere. Some say that the placewas bewitched by a High German doctor, during the early days of thesettlement; others, that an old Indian chief, the prophet or wizard ofhis tribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered byMaster Hendrick Hudson. Certain it is, the place still continues underthe sway of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds ofthe good people, causing them to walk in a continual reverie. They aregiven to all kinds of marvellous beliefs, are subject to trances andvisions, and frequently see strange sights, and hear music and voices inthe air. The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots,and twilight superstitions; stars shoot and meteors glare oftener acrossthe valley than in any other part of the country, and the nightmare,with her whole ninefold, seems to make it the favorite scene of hergambols.The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, andseems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is theapparition of a figure on horseback, without a head. It is said by someto be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried awayby a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War,and who is ever and anon seen by the country folk hurrying along inthe gloom of night, as if on the wings of the wind. His haunts are notconfined to the valley, but extend at times to the adjacent roads,