n a letter
to Murray as leading "a 'miscellaneous' kind of life at Paris....
Anacreon Moore is living here, and has made me a gayer fellow than I
could have wished; but I found it impossible to resist the charm of
his society."

In July (1821) he returned to London, in poor physical condition. He
had now been tormented at intervals for several years by an eruptive
complaint which kept him from exercise, and brought on other troubles.
After his return he was bedridden for four or five months, most of
which he passed at his sister's house in Birmingham. He grew very fond
of his little nephews and nieces--particularly an urchin named
George, of whom his letters record such items as: "George has made his
appearance in a new pair of Grimaldi breeches, with pockets full as
deep as the former. To balance his ball and marbles, he has the
opposite pocket filled with a peg-top and a quantity of dry peas, so
that he can only lie comfortably on his back or belly." He was by no
means idle at this time. In January of the following year he sent the
manuscript of "Bracebridge Hall" to his brother Ebenezer with the
remark, "My health is still unrestored. This work has kept me from
getting well, and my indisposition on the other hand has retarded the
work. I have now been about five weeks in London, and have only once
been out of doors, about a month since, and that made me worse." That
single escape from the sick-room, his biographer says, was made for
the sake of persuading Murray to publish Cooper's "Spy," which had
already appeared in America. Irving's own experience was duplicated:
Murray refused to take "The Spy," but was glad to publish Cooper's
later work. He now gave Irving a thousand guineas for the English
rights in "Bracebridge Hall." It was less than he might have given,
but Irving could never be persuaded to haggle over prices. He seems to
have agreed with Peter, who wrote cheerfully, "A thousand guineas has
a golden sound." It was the amount which had been sunk in poor Peter's
steamboat, which was still making its unprofitable trips up and down
the Seine; and two hundred guineas of this thousand soon passed into
his pocket, where no doubt he found their melody even pleasanter.

"Bracebridge Hall" was well received; and confirmed its author's
reputation, especially in England. He had only to be passive to find
himself overwhelmed with social engagements. A more liberal diet and
plenty of exercise had improved his conditio