aveller" appeared in 1824, and Irving, now in comfortable
circumstances determined to enlarge his sphere of observation by a
journey on the Continent. After a long course of travel he settled
down at Madrid, in the house of the American consul, Rich. His
intention at the time was to translate Navarrete's recently published
work on Columbus. Finding, however, that this was rather a collection
of valuable materials than a systematic biography, he determined to
compose a biography of his own by its assistance, supplemented by
independent researches in the Spanish archives. His work appeared in
1828 and obtained a merited success. It is a finished representation
of Columbus from the point of view of the nineteenth century,
affecting neither brilliancy nor originality, but a model of tasteful
elegance, felicitous in every detail and adequate in every respect.
"The Companions of Columbus" followed; and a prolonged residence in
the south of Spain gave Irving materials for two highly picturesque
books, "The Conquest of Granada," professedly derived from the MSS. of
an imaginary Fray Antonio Agapida, and "The Alhambra." Previous to
their appearance he had been appointed secretary to the embassy at
London, an office as purely complimentary to his literary ability as
the legal degree which he about the same time received from the
University of Oxford. Returning to the United States in 1832, after
seventeen years' absence, he found his name a household word, and
himself universally honored as the first American who had won for his
country recognition on equal terms in the literary republic. After the
rush of _fetes_ and public compliments had subsided, he undertook a
tour in the Western prairies, and returning to the neighborhood of New
York built for himself a delightful retreat on the Hudson, to which he
gave the name of Sunnyside. His acquaintance with the New York
millionaire, John Jacob Astor, prompted his next important work,
"Astoria," a history of the fur-trading settlement founded by Astor in
Oregon, deduced with singular literary ability from dry commercial
records, and, without labored attempts at word-painting, evincing a
remarkable faculty for bringing scenes and incidents vividly before
the eye. "Captain Bonneville," based upon the unpublished memoirs of a
veteran hunter, was another work of the same class. In 1842 Irving was
appointed ambassador to Spain. He spent four years in the country,
without this time turning h