ning.[6]

[Footnote 5: _Graham's Magazine_, May, 1842.]

[Footnote 6: _Vailima Letters_, I, page 147.]

America may justly lay claim to this new species of short narrative.
Beginning in the early part of the nineteenth century there had begun to
appear in this country stories showing variations from the English type
of story which "still bore upon it marks of its origin; it was either a
hard, formal, didactic treatise, derived from the moral apologue or
fable; or it was a sentimental love-tale derived from the artificial
love-romance that followed the romance of chivalry."[7] The first one to
stand out prominently is Washington Irving's _Rip Van Winkle_, which was
published in 1820. This story, while more leisurely and less condensed
than the completely developed form of the short-story, had the important
element of humor, as well as freshness, grace, and restraint, nothing
being said that should not be said.

[Footnote 7: Krapp's _Irving's Tales of a Traveller_, etc. Introduction.
(Scott, Foresman & Co.)]

The next writer in the order of development is Edgar Allan Poe, whose
_Berenice_ appeared in 1835. With it the short-story took definite form.
Poe's contribution is structure and technique; that is, he definitely
introduced the characteristics noted in the definition--unity,
compression, originality, and ingenuity. With almost mathematical
precision he sets out to obtain an effect. To quote from his
before-mentioned review of Hawthorne his own words which are so definite
as almost to compose a formula of his way of writing a short-story and
are so thoughtful as to be nearly the summary of any discussion of the
subject: "A skillful literary artist has constructed a tale. If wise, he
has not fashioned his thoughts to accommodate his incidents; but having
conceived, with deliberate care, a certain unique or single effect to be
wrought out, he then invents such incidents--he then combines such
events--as may best aid him in establishing this preconceived effect. If
his very initial sentence tend not to the out-bringing of this effect,
then he has failed in his first step. In the whole composition there
should be no word written of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is
not to the one preestablished design. And by such means, with such care
and skill, a picture is at length painted which leaves in the mind of
him who contemplates it with a kindred art a sense of the fullest
satisfaction. The idea of the tale has