Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-05-01
TERMS OF ADVERTISING.

| Student-like representations sckly aspect.
Some penand-ink sketches by Cruikshank,
some paintings by Leslie, Stewart, Newton,
ETC., rare portrait of Dante, presented by Mr..
| Wilde, and other choice objects of vertlf, are
here. Among his curious relics is a specimen
of the tesselated wall OF the Alhambra, hang
| ing over the side-table Of one of the parlors.
He said it was his good fortune to possess it
| through the kindness Of a friend for although
he deemed it sacrilegious to abstractit it himself,
there 1t was transferred by less scrupulous
hands.
Half an hours chat with the ladies, the
nieces of Mr.. Irving, and dinner was an
nounced. Our host did the honors of the table
with great effect, aiding digesture" by his
mirth-provoking sallies and humorous recitals !;
but he grew eloquent when alusion was made
to any incident connected with his residence
abroad, especially at London and Madrid. He
narrated with evident zest some interesting re-
collections of his European travels. Some little
anecdotes of the kind he related with so jocund
an air, that the whole company were electrified
with the flashes of his wit. To attempt here
to rehearse them would, however be doing Sc
rious injustice to both their author and the
reader.
Among other entertaining drolleries, he re
lated a little incident of which he was an eye
witness, and which occurred at one Of the
levees of George Nv. at st. James. On one
OF these State occasions, an American naval
officer, on being presented to his Majesty, jolly
tar like, this unsophisticated son of Neptune,
all unskilled in the usages of courtly etiquette,
instead Of kissing the royal hand as it was ex-
tended to him, in the most unceremonious
manner, gave it hearty shaking to the pious
horror of the lords in waiting, and the amaze
ment Of all the assembled dignitaries.
The radiant summer sunset was now stream
ing its liquid gold through the windows, tempt
ing us out upon the lawn again, to feast our
gaze with the splendor of the scene.
On inquiring for "the seat Of inspiration"
Mr.. Irving said he had no seat so dignifed
yet he good humoredly INDUCED our fancy and
led US to an arbor to which he is often accus-
toned to repair, and here we were privileged to
| enjoy an enviable tete-d-fete with him for up
wards of two hours. Of our pleasant desul-
tory gossip, let the following particulars suffice,
which we quote at randum. In reply to our
inquiry as to the origin of some of his produc.
tons, Mr.. Irving intimated that it was with
much hesitation he ventured upon the expe-
dient of investing certain localities of his own
country with the associations of romance as
he feared the American people were unprepared
to receive and appreciate suchspecies of writing.
Yet his own mind being deeply imbued with
love of romantic legend, he still thought the
banks of his iavorite river too tempting theme
to be entirely disregarded. The legendary lore
| of the Rhine, and the Hartz mountains, proved
| so potent charm to the lover of the marve-
| lous, that he resolved to attempt a series of
sketches somewhat upon the same model, touch
ing the woods and streams Of America. With
what singular success this projected resolution
was achieved, it is needless to speak.
On inquiring what were his most favorite hours
and habits Of authorship and study, he replied
that he could usually write best in the fore.
noon, and that this was the time that he
generally devoted to his literary pursuits.
| He expressed some regret, however, that
this arrangement deprived him Of his ride. He
admitted that his hours Of study were generally
irregular; sometimes they were protracted till
late, even much beyond midnight Referring
to his literary labors, Mr.. Irving, in one Of his
early letters to Scott uses the following express
sions:
any whole course of life has been desultory
| have no command ofmy talents, such as they
are, and have to watch the varying Of my mind
as | would those Of weather-cock. | must,
therefore, keep on pretty much as | have be-
gun; writing when | can, not when / would
Mr.. Irving has never been collector in the
usual acceptation Of the term; his library does
not contain many rare or curious specimens of
photography; it consists chiefly of standard
historical works OF reference, together with the
best of the usual publications Of the day. As
may be supposed, his taste in books is fastidious
and select. We noticed long series Of the
works Of Scott, his favorite contemporary
writer; and he had the last production Of
Dickens lying open upon bis table
In course Of conversation, Mr.. Irving spoke
appreciatingly of the multitude Of clever au-
thors of the present day." instancing some OF
the most prominent names; but he added,
with strong emphasis, Dickens is immeasura-
bly, above his contemporaries, and David Cop
perheld' is his master-production.n Many
| times during our chat, we listened to the deli
cious caroling OF the birds which haunt these
sylvan shades, and fill the air with their melody.
Mr. Irving said he could not account for it, but
the birds seemed fond Of the place, for they
constantly made the air vocal with their delicate
music. They also, or some other little airies,
seemed 10 have charmed away from the spot
the summer haunting mosquito, for we learned
to our surprise that they never made their ap
pearance there. Two favorite dogs gamboled
about the lawn, or stretched themselves at the
feet of their master, who evidently took plea.
sure in their sportive and sprightly movements.
Mr.. Irving seldom leaves this chosen and
charmed spot, except to make brief visits to the
city Of New York He seems welded to the
scene Of this happy repose; yet he is accus-
toned to make occasional visits to the estab-
lishment Of Mr.. Putnam, Of New York, where
he may be seen lingering in some sly corner
over fresh importation of English books, or
ndulging familiar chitchat, snugly ensconced
in the sanctum of his friend and publisher.
SO averse he is, indeed, to observation, that he
feels,it to be an annoyance that troops of in.
/ uuisitive visitors from Tarrytown should maka
Sunny-Side an object Of daily curiosity. Re.
ferring to Mr.. Paulding, his literary contempo-
rary, or rather his senior in authorship, he said
he had a curious conceit respecting his age-a
fancy to be thought older than he really is
"He is not much my senior, 7 observed Mr.. Tr.
wing; "yet he persists in his being at least ten
years older ! am, II is true, seventy, which is
pretty old; but | do not feel DID, cannot
even persuade myself that am old; for my
feelings and fancies, and spirits, are still young,
and my recollections of early life are as vivid
and delightful as ever" /, is well known that
our author never married; but he can scarcely
IL 4. n Ill e.