The chief part of the stories, however, turned upon the favor-
ite spectre of Sleepy Hollow, the headless horseman, who had
been heard several times of late, patrolling the country ; and
it was said, tethered his horse nightly among the graves in the
church-yard.
The sequestered situation of this church seems always to
have made it a favorite haunt of troubled spirits. It stands
on a knoll, surrounded by locust-trees and lofty elms, from
among which its decent, whitewashed walls shine modestly
forth, like Christian purity, beaming through the shades of
retirement. A gentle slope descends from it to a silver sheet



156 THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW.
