"Shall I have naught that is fair?" saith he; "Have naught but the bearded grain? Though the breath of these flowers is sweet to me, I will give them all back again." He gazed at the flowers with tearful eyes, He kissed their drooping leaves; It was for the Lord of Paradise He bound them in his sheaves. My Lord has need of these flowerets gay,' The Reaper said, and smiled; "Dear tokens of the earth are they, Where He was once a child. 5 ΙΟ 15 "They shall all bloom in fields of light, And saints, upon their garments white, And the mother gave, in tears and pain, O, not in cruelty, not in wrath, 20 25 CHAPTER VIII WASHINGTON IRVING, 1783-1859 "If he wishes to study a style which possesses the characteristic beauties of Addison's, its ease, simplicity, and elegance, with greater accuracy, point, and spirit, let him give his days and nights to the volumes of Irving." - EDWARD EVERETT'S Advice to a Student. WASHINGTON IRVING, one of the earliest and most popular of American authors, and of whom Thackeray happily spoke as "the first ambassador whom the New World of letters sent to the Old," was born in New York City in 1783. He received only a common-school education, leaving the schoolroom at sixteen, yet for many years afterward pursued a systematic course of reading of the standard authors, especially Chaucer, Spenser, and Bunyan. In his boyhood days he seemed to have a natural talent for writing essays and stories. As he always detested mathematics, he often wrote compositions for his schoolmates, and they in turn worked out his problems for him. He studied law for a time, but, not being inclined to submit to the drudgery of a profession, preferred to employ himself in rambling excursions around Manhattan Island, by which he became familiar with the beautiful scenery which he afterward made famous by his pen. Thus he acquired that minute knowledge of various historical locations, curious traditions and legends, so beauti fully made use of in his "Sketch Book" and "History of New York." In 1804, being threatened with pulmonary disease, he sailed for Europe, and remained abroad for nearly two years. On his return, he undertook to resume his legal practice, but without success. In company with others, he began the publication of a serial called "Salmagundi." It was well conducted, and proved successful. In 1809 he published his "Knickerbocker's History of New York," "the most unique, perfectly rounded, and elaborately sustained burlesque in our literature." He conducted a magazine in Philadelphia for years to which he two con tributed articles afterward included in "The Sketch WASHINGTON IRVING Book." In 1814 he served as an aid to Governor Tompkins, and at the end of the war again went to Europe, where he continued to live for the next seventeen years. By the failure of his brother he lost all his property; and having been thus thrown upon his own resources, he devoted himself to literature to earn a living. His "Sketch Book" was published in 1819. By the personal influence of Sir Walter Scott it was republished in London, and at once established Irving's reputation as a great author. His next works were "Bracebridge Hall," published in 1822, and "Tales of a Traveler" in 1824. Having been 66 commissioned to make some translations from the Spanish, he took up his residence in Madrid. To this residence in Spain we are indebted for some of his most charming works, as, "Life of Columbus," "Conquest of Granada," "The Alhambra," "Mahomet and his Successors," and Spanish Papers." He returned to America in 1832. During the next ten years were published "Astoria," "Adventures of Captain Bonneville," and "Wolfert's Roost." In 1842 Irving was appointed minister to Spain. His "Life of Goldsmith" was published four years later, after his return home. His last and most carefully written work was the "Life of Washington," in five volumes. Irving's last years were spent at "Sunnyside," his delightful residence at Tarrytown on the Hudson, in the midst of the beautiful scenes which he has immortalized. Irving died Nov. 28, 1859, the same year with Prescott, the historian, and Macaulay. A friend who saw much of our author in his latter days thus describes him: "He had dark-gray eyes, a handsome straight nose which might perhaps be called large, a broad, high, full forehead, and a small mouth. I should call him of medium height, - about five feet and nine inches, — and inclined to be a trifle stout. His smile was exceedingly genial, lightening up his whole face, and rendering it very attractive; while, if he were about to say anything humorous, it would beam forth from his eyes even before his words were spoken." In one of his charming "Easy Chair" essays, George William Curtis says, "Irving was as quaint a figure as the Diedrich Knickerbocker in the preliminary advertisement of the History of New York. Thirty years ago he might have been seen on an autumnal afternoon, tripping with an elastic step along Broadway, with low quartered shoes H |