HISTORY OF BROOKLYN. 167

When the pulpit of the church in New York was vacant, he preached there every Wednesday by invitation, without failure on account of weather; for which he received compensation and a vote of thanks from the New York Consistory. He also preached (1680-2) for the Dutch church at Bergen. In 1685 he returned to Holland, where he resumed his former charge over the church at Gonderac.1

The records of the church at Flatbush during Van Zuren’s pastorate present the following minutes, which may not be uninteresting to our readers:

“Respecting another difficulty, touching the preaching at Flatbush beyond the usual turn. It was asked, inasmuch as this (i.e., a similar case) bad occurred at a previous meeting, on the 15th November, 1679, whether, when the town which has the turn shall neglect to fetch the minister, or be hindered by foul weather, such ought to pass for a turn for Flatbush—which appeared improper, because in such case the minister would then (only) sit still. After some debate between Flatbush and the other towns, the minister observed that the service on the Lord's day might not be neglected; for it could not injure the other towns that Flatbush had an extra turn, for the other towns thereafter again took their course (i.e., their respective turns). That the minister not being fetched by anybody, evidently belonged no more to the one than to the other, and in such a case he stood free on his own feet to give the extra turn to whom he pleased; that Flatbush received profit, but the other towns no injury, (and) that this was unjust no one could pretend; and that Flatbush was not obligated to the other towns, but to the minister whom they remunerated, which was evident, inasmuch as they bad purchased a piece of land 16 rods long and 12 broad, adjoining the parsonage; and this ought to be duly considered, although no person ought to be a judge in his own

1 The two self-righteous Labadist travellers, whose journal form the first volume of the Collections of the L. I. Hist. Society, have left us a brief glimpse of Van Zuren: “While we were sitting there, Do. Van Suren came up, to whom the farmers called out as uncivilly and rudely as if he had been a boy. He had a chatting time with all of them. As Jan Theunissen had mid to us in the house, that if the Domine only had a chance ever to talk to us, Oh, how he would talk to us I that we avoided him, and therefore could not be very good people; now, as we were there, we sat near him and the boors and those with whom he was conversing. He spoke to us, but not a word of that fell from him. Indeed, he sat prating and gossiping with the boors, who talked foully and otherwise, not only without giving them a single word of reproof, but even without speaking a word about God, or spiritual matters. It was all about horses, and cattle, and swine, and grain, and then he went away.”