Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1859-12-01
p. Me- = Essiasd his ''ra'

" UtAG Al ~ " -
ter after the publication of the Tales or arffavei
or. he received . letter from Mr.. Alexander IL
Everest then Miuiytsr of the Unitsd States ~
Spain. informiogi Aim OF The researches rssessiss
Columbus by NRvstr,.-, and inviting him TO Ma.
drid. to consider the gavriety 81 tsHa la,ips ti=
caileesion Of Assssssats iais English. lie accept
4 iei the iasi,s,tss and his residence in ths Spaa-
\ t.hs capital gave d trse sffteesion to his iitsrssy IL.
baarS lilo SION percvivsd that tho publication 1T
Nav rre,e presented mol 80 N ueh . history n the
materials for such a ~.wk, aud with Little he,its-
tion soon undertpk frop this and various other
! %printel aud manuscript collections respecting the
great navigator. n prepare . work Which should
~. an asoe ptabls gift to his sounirymen, and tlst
the world would ntt willingly let die" HE
avn reputatios, and Tie friendship Of the Ameri.
can resident IN Spain, secured to him every posi-.
bic facility. and in ls2s he supplied \ desideraturn
whicl, hal existed in the literature Of every ma
| tion,-a History Of the Life end Voyages ofUhris-
topasr Columbus. TINT WAS worthy Of lis subject.
In his researches connected with the life If the
Great Admiral, Mr.. Irving hal caught ~glimpses
If the r mantle grandeur of the Moorish d'tnin-
ion. and Of strange adventure in those wars, that
! ondel with the expulsion Vi tho MahomMedans
from Spnin. in whieh his hero was sometime an
actor nni before The appearance Of the work last
inrntionci. ne PUBLISHED his Chronicle Of the Con
quost Of Granada, in which. under The gaise Of an
imaginary contemporary author, Fray Antonio
AgapiJa, he has presented a view Of the knightly
cmprise aud splendid ruyeantry OF the infdel rs.
tendency in .Andalu~ia. which combines the poet
i ..,t.:.... e a. IA E.-,I.., .,,t IN
charming simplicity and visaci,y Of Froissart. In
the spring Of 1929, after visiting tho ruins Of the
towns and castles. and The wild passes and defles,
whici, had been tho scenes oil the most remIrka-
bic event, in the crusade against the Moors. by II
very courteous offer # the king oi Spnin, be re-
mn,ncd several months in the AIlambra. where
the Noslcm heroes Iu.,sed the intervals Of war in
dallinpcc with ticir nalias and Zulnlas, and here
wyac the series Of tales aud sketches which was
subsequently published u"'lcr thr name Of that
ctohaatcl palace.
At ieng,h. in 1882. after an absesce II seveu-
leea year, Mr.. fryns returned To the United
S,alcs.
IN 1885 Mr.. Irving rcappeafol a. an author, in
a Tour 1T the l'rliries, III which he gives an nc.
count Of hi, wanderinss in the Indian country in
tho autumn Of 1882.
In 1886 he published Astoria, or Anecdotes Of
M Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. Ma
ny years before, during occasional visits to Cana
da, he bad become acquainted with some of the
partners of the great North West Fur Company,
who at that time lived in genial style at Montreal,
aud at their hosritallc boards had met Sinbads
Of the Wilderness" whose wnndctings and peril
Qua adventures among the Indians had made the
lives Of irappers and fur traders pei feet romance
l., him; 50 that niterward, when the friendship OF
Mr.. John Jacob As.rr' M ,raed him materials for
a history of the cute prise undertaken by tGot
gentleman to establish, the fur trade ut the ,nouih
f the Columbia river. he engaged in its rrerara-
lion Nith ehrhusiusm. aul produced n work nd.
minlly iitci to rradfy curiosity on tho subject,
In ISL, sooa ALTER HE Wing national aImiuis-
tration came in,o p,wer. Mr.. Irving WAS appoint
I'd Munster Pieoi potrntiary to the court of SPAN.
In London and Paris, rs ho passed thrIrs n those
cities, he was warmly greeted by his oh friends
and associates. AMI in Madrid. where he resided
four years, he renewed his acquaintance with the
distinguished Spanish scholars and mca If letters
whom he had known while writing in that capital
his History OF Columbus and Conquest of Grana-
ia. On tho election II Mr.. Polk to the Pre- ,iden-
~, he was :clieved, ut his own request, having
been absent n year and II half beyond the period
contemplated when he accepted the appointment
and in tho autumn of 1886 no returned IL New
York, and retired tn "Woolfrrt's R,ost,' where
he spent the remainder Of his days.
The last and browning work of his brilliant
| and useful life was his Life of Wushins ton,"
the fifth aud concluding volume of which has hut
recently appeared.
His style has tue ease and purity and more
than the grace and polish OF Ffankjin; without
tac intensity Of Brown, the cnmpnctncss Of Cal.
lcun, or the strength I'D 81 lcnduu. # Webster,
--Ame; lean authors who preceded him, NJ were
IN the strictcst sense his contemporaries. Ills
words are selected with the most careful taste, and
s., arranged rs TO produce the effect Of finished
vclsiication. lie is not always correct: ,ach un-
authorized forms Us from thence and Others, eccur
frequently. and eviuce more resa,d FOR n nice mo
dula,ion than for perfect grammatical accuracy
but his variously constructed per,ods, his remork
able elegance, sustained sweetness. and distinc,
aud delicate painting. place him in the very iron,
rank of the masters oi our language, 1t may be
sd OF him, that in whatever he has proposed t.
himself to d., he has been among tho most sue,
cessiul Of MI authors.
The Confession Of Cook.
We published in yesterday PAPER : me Extracts