The Land of Sleepy Hollow

              3  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.              
and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head. It is said by
some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the
revolutionary war, and who is ever and anon seen by the country
folk, hurrying along in the gloom of night, as if on the wings of the
wind. His haunts are not confined to the valley, but extend at times
to the adjacent roads, and especially to the vicinity of a church at no
great distance. Indeed, certain of the most authentic historians of
those parts, who have been careful in collecting and collating the
floating facts concerning this spectre, allege that the body of the
trooper, having been buried in the churchyard,.the ghost rides forth
to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head; and that the rush-
ing speed with which he sometimes passes along the Hollow, like a
midnight blast, is owing to his being belated, and in a hurry to get
back to the churchyard before daybreak.
Such is the general purport of this legendary superstition, which
has furnished materials for many a wild story in that region of shad-
ows ; and the spectre is known, at all the country firesides, by the
name of The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.
It is remarkable that the visionary propensity I have mentioned is not confined to the native inhabitants of the valley, but is unconsciously imbibed by every one who resides there for a time. However wide-awake they may have been before they entered that sleepy region, they are sure, in a little time, to inhale the witching influence
of the air, and begin to grow imaginative, to dream dreams, and see
apparitions.
I mention this peaceful spot with all possible laud ; for it is in such little retired Dutch valleys, found here and there embosomed in
the great State of New York, that population, manners, and customs
remain fixed; while the great torrent of migration and improvement, which is making such incessant changes in other parts of this
restless country, sweeps by them unobserved.    They are like those