e between England and America was in its infancy at the,
time of which we are now writing, and though Mr. Murray was frequently
invited to publish American books, he had considerable hesitation in
accepting such invitations.

Mr. Washington Irving, who was already since 1807 favourably known as an
author in America, called upon Mr. Murray, and was asked to dine, as
distinguished Americans usually were. He thus records his recollections
of the event in a letter to his brother Peter at Liverpool:

_Mr. Washington Irving to Mr. Peter Irving_.

_August_ 19, 1817.

"I had a very pleasant dinner at Murray's. I met there D'Israeli and an
artist [Brockedon] just returned from Italy with an immense number of
beautiful sketches of Italian scenery and architecture. D'Israeli's wife
and daughter came in in the course of the evening, and we did not
adjourn until twelve o'clock. I had a long _tete-a-tete_ with old
D'Israeli in a corner. He is a very pleasant, cheerful old fellow,
curious about America, and evidently tickled at the circulation his
works have had there, though, like most authors just now, he groans at
not being able to participate in the profits. Murray was very merry and
loquacious. He showed me a long letter from Lord Byron, who is in Italy.
It is written with some flippancy, but is an odd jumble. His Lordship
has written some 104 stanzas of the fourth canto ('Childe Harold'). He
says it will be less metaphysical than the last canto, but thinks it
will be at least equal to either of the preceding. Murray left town
yesterday for some watering-place, so that I have had no further talk
with him, but am to keep my eye on his advertisements and write to him
when anything offers that I may think worth republishing in America. I
shall find him a most valuable acquaintance on my return to London."

A business in Liverpool, in which, with his brother, he was a partner,
proved a failure, and in 1818 he was engaged on his famous "Sketch
Book," which he wrote in England, and sent to his brother Ebenezer in
New York to be published there. The work appeared in three parts in the
course of the year 1819. Several of the articles were copied in English
periodicals and were read with great admiration. A writer in _Blackwood_
expressed surprise that Mr. Irving had thought fit to publish his
"Sketch Book" in America earlier than in Britain, and predicted a large
and eager demand for such a work. On this encouragement, Irving, who