urged to go to his studio, but never went. "It was one of the negligences of my life."

It was in the autumn of this year that he united himself to the Episcopal church, and he was no doubt particularly susceptible at this period to the emotions such an engraving was calculated to excite. He first partook of the communion in Grace Church, New York, after an earnest conversation with his friend, its distinguished Rector, Dr. Taylor. He had long contemplated doing this, and afterwards, in alluding to the occasion to me, spoke of it as "a moment of overwhelming emotion."-It has been suggested by some, that in the record of Mr. Irving's life, too little prominence has been given to the religious aspect of his character. It would have ill suited his feelings to have been held up conspicuously as a Christian. He was truly and sincerely a religious man, but, as in everything else, he was a very modest one. He had chosen the Episcopal church, and was an unfailing attendant upon its worship, delighting in its beautiful service. But he was no sectarian, and never inclined to speculate about dogmas and creeds. He gave to all the different denominations in his neighborhood, and his faith was of a truly catholic kind, embracing all. To quote the language of the Rev. Mr. Spencer* in a sermon delivered on the occasion of his death, "Glory be to God on high, and on earth, peace, good-will

* Assistant Minister of Christ Church, Tarrytown, where Mr. Irving worshipped.

to men,' was his summary of the Gospel." Alluding to that grand anthem in the church service, of which the above are the opening words, he once said to his pastor, the Rev. Dr. Creighton, "I never hear the 'Gloria in Excelsis' without feeling better and without my heart being lifted up."

I give a few specimens from the literary notices of the day, to show the unbroken charm of the "Sketch Book," and the cordial welcome it received. It was the second volume of the new series, and was published about the 1st of October. I should add, that the interest of the volume was enhanced by a preface, which contained a narrative of the circumstances of the first publication of the work.

The second volume of Putnam's elegant edition of Irving is before us. The "Sketch Book," purely classic and beautiful as is its language, seems to read even more refreshingly in the present choice getting up. It is needless to refer to the work itself; for who that reads at all has failed to make acquaintance with its pages? The exquisite sketches of "The Wife," the "Broken Heart," and "Rural Funerals," have been an utterance and a consolation to many a heart, and they will not soon cease their mission. "Rip Van Winkle" and the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" have taken root in the soil which produced them; and the graphic papers on the "Christmas Festivities of England" have been adopted as part of the records of her homes. Few single works have attained a wider reach of influence, or a more enduring fame.

I find in Bryant's "Evening Post" of October 13th, the following notice of its republication :

Washington Irving's name is uppermost in our thoughts when speaking the claims or recounting the successes of American authorship. He has had the homage of critics on both sides of the Atlantic; the cordial praise of men of letters, his contemporaries and colaborers; some share of those executive favors which are rarely accorded as tributes to literary eminence; and he enjoys a reputation dignified by the union of high personal character, and unmarred by any of those personal jealousies that so often discredit established reputations, or that latter-day mediocrity that threatens them with final bankruptcy. We are glad to find him devoting part of the leisure of Sunnyside to the revision of his works for their uniform publication. The first purchasers of this volume will be, if we mistake not, those who have read it oftenest. Its familiar papers come to most readers with the charm of long acquaintance; they are amongst the old wine in their stores of pleasant book recollections. Rip Van Winkle and Ichabod Crane are universal heroes; the Widow and her Son have made their appeal to everybody's sympathies; and every American traveller in England divides the enjoyment and the reminiscences of his pilgrimage to Stratford-on-Avon between Shakespeare and Irving.

Late in October I called on Mr. Irving, then in New York, and found him engaged on his "Life of Mahomet," evidently somewhat fagged. I told him I saw Putnam had advertised its appearance for the 1st of January. Yes, he said; he was afraid it would hurry him to get ready; he gave him a negligent answer, and he fixed a day. Was a good deal bothered in his anxiety to finish this and the "Life of Washington." Hoped he would not drop in harness. I told him the uniform edition was doing so well, he could afford to take his ease, and not to drudge. "Yes," said he; "but I know my nature. I

must get through with the work I have cut out for myself. I must weave my web, and then die."

A few days afterward, the third of the series of the new edition of his works, being the first volume of "The Life and Voyages of Columbus," made its appearance; and in the preface the author took occasion to notice the accusation that he had not given sufficient credit to Don Martin Fernandez de Navarrete for the aid he had derived from his collection of documents; quoting, in refutation, a letter of Navarrete himself, and that author's own words also, in the third volume of his "Collection of Spanish Voyages."

The next volume of the revised series "Bracebridge Hall" was published on the 1st of December. "When we consider," says the "Evening Post," in a notice of its appearance, "that in 'Bracebridge Hall' are to be found 'Ready-Money Jack' and the 'Stout Gentleman,' as examples of Irving's comic power, and 'Annette Delarbre' as an instance of his command over the gentler emotions, we are tempted to ask whether he has done anything better than his 'Bracebridge Hall. "

Four volumes of the revised series were now published, and the sale, for books that were not new, was unprecedented. By many the enterprise had been pronounced a rash one; but the reception given to these volumes by the public, proved, in the language of another, "the solidity of the author's reputation, and seemed like a recognition of his works as an abiding part of his land's language."

Forty years had gone by since "Knickerbocker" was first introduced to the public; and thirty years had wellnigh passed away since, in his original preface to the first number of the "Sketch Book," he wrote:

The following writings are published on experiment. Should they please, they may be followed by others. Should his exertions

be well received, the author cannot conceal that it would be a source of the purest gratification; for, though he does not aspire to those high honors which are the rewards of loftier intellects, yet it is the dearest wish of his heart to have a secure and cherished, though humble corner, in the good opinions and kind feeling of his countrymen.

"Little did he then anticipate," says an anonymous contemporary, in quoting this passage, "that the Gospel annunciation, 'He that humbleth himself shall be exalted,' would be so fully verified in his case; that the 'high honors' to which he did not aspire, would be accorded to him of right; and that the 'humble corner' he coveted in the affections of his countrymen, should prove to be the most favored spot."