ory" was only
to burlesque a pretentious disquisition on the history of the city in
a guide-book by Dr. Samuel Mitchell. The idea expanded as Irving
proceeded, and he ended by not merely satirizing the pedantry of local
antiquaries, but by creating a distinct literary type out of the solid
Dutch burgher whose phlegm had long been an object of ridicule to the
mercurial Americans. Though far from the most finished of Irving's
productions, "Knickerbocker" manifests the most original power and is
the most genuinely national in its quaintness and drollery. The very
tardiness and prolixity of the story are skilfully made to heighten
the humorous effect. The next few years were unproductive. Upon the
death of his father, Irving had become a sleeping partner in his
brother's commercial house, a branch of which was established at
Liverpool. This, combined with the restoration of peace, induced him
to visit England in 1815, when he found the stability of the firm
seriously compromised. After some years of ineffectual struggle it
became bankrupt. This misfortune compelled Irving to resume his pen as
a means of subsistence. His reputation had preceded him to England,
and the curiosity naturally excited by the then unwonted apparition of
a successful American author procured him admission into the highest
literary circles, where his popularity was insured by his amiable
temper and polished manners. As an American, moreover, he aroused no
jealousy and no competition, and stood aloof from the political and
literary disputes which then divided England. Campbell, Jeffrey,
Moore, Scott were counted among his friends, and the last-named
zealously recommended him to the publisher Murray, who, after at first
refusing, consented (1820) to bring out "Geoffrey Crayon's
Sketch-book," which was already appearing in America in a periodical
form. The most interesting part of this work is the description of an
English Christmas, which displays a delicate humor not unworthy of the
writer's evident model, Addison. Some stories and sketches on American
themes contribute to give it variety; of these Rip Van Winkle is the
most remarkable. It speedily obtained the greatest success on both
sides of the Atlantic. "Bracebridge Hall," a work purely English in
subject, followed in 1822, and showed to what account the American
observer had turned his experience of English country life. The humor
is, nevertheless, much more English than American. "Tales of a
Tr