The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-12-02

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slIl =. - - . h.,f hour with wash
IT, e1etoh oeiow - - !. nor,hsrn rA,,er
saesaa IRVING IL farnisneo = - ..ss...
- ,~sser Who visited Sunnysiue A''u' !"
- s~ss-. she death OF It's noble old feHNns.
49, 1sss,tnans the quaint old Rip Van
Aftef aesclso's s.,,As If aha Hudson.
WSnkle" cossaee ou 's'e
tAe writer says:
~ IRVING 10 not 90 old-looktng as enc
,..s,,a exrecs who knew his age. fancied
rsrs - II the winter OF life, found MN oaiy
:, S.s fasilsa summer lie CAME down stArs.
Ina walked snesugh the hail into the naek
carter. with a lism and Lively step taat miRn.
we'll nAsit made cue doubt whetaer ne hau
.r,stx attained his seventy seventh year Ha
,Sss suffering from asthma, and was muMed
against the damp air with q Scotch shawl,
wrmapsd like great loose scarf AROUND MS
10y Nj ~ he took his seat in the old arm
mar and. despite his hoarseRess and troubled
chest oe9An an nnex pectediy yivncious COB
VIBRATION, he made me almost forget that was
the guest Of an old man long past his "three-
score years and ten.''
hut what should one talk about who haa
Only half an hour with Washington Irving
venturUd the q uestion-
SHOW that you have laid aside you. pen.
which OF your books do you look paeh "Po"
with moet Measure ~
lie Immediately replied, 81 scarcely loon
with fun satisfaction upon any; Tor they 40
not seem what thay might have beeni often
vrish that could have twenty years more, 10
stale them down from the shell, one by one, aha
write them over"
He spoke Of bis daily haelts OF writing, oe-
2 fore he had made the resolution 10 write no
more. His usual hours for literary work
were from morning till noon. bnt aitnoegh
he had generally found his mind most vigor-
Gus ia the early part OF the day, he had always
Asn>% he n Qfsyn "a
never tell when he took mp the pen, how
many hours would pass before lac would lay
IL down.
But" said he, ",hese eapricions periods of
the heat and glow of composition, have been
the hsppiest hours of my lite have never
found in any thing outside Of the four walls
OF my study, any enjoyment equal to sitting
AT my writing desk with clean page, new
theme and a mind awake"
His literary employments, he remarked
had always been more like entertainments
than tasks.
"Some writers,a said he appear TO have
been independent Of moods. Sir Walter Scott,
for instance, had great power of writing, ana
could work almost at any timei SO eonid
Crabbe-but with this difference Scott al
ways, and Crabbe seldom, wro.e Well. re-
memb her" said he, stalking breakfast one morn
ing with Roge.s Moore and Crabbe the ~on-
= versation turned on Lord Byron's poetic
moods Crabbe said that however 1t might be
with Lord Byron, as for himself, he ccuid
write as well at one time as at another. But
said Irving, witha twinkle of humor at recall
ing the incident, "Crahbe has written q great
deal that nobody ever can read !"
He mentioned that while living in Paris, he
went long period without being able 10
write. 81 sat down repeatedly" said he. win
pen and ink. but could invent nothing worth
putting on the paper. At length. told my
friend Tom Moore, who dropped in one MORN
ing that now, after long waiting. had the
mood. and would hold it, and work it out as
long as it would last, until had wrung my
a = Ix,rra ia Stnr fy n ffAYs
breakfast and continued. without noticing
how the time was passing until Moore came
in again AT four in the afternoon-when had
comnletalv covered the table with freshly
written sheets / kept the mood almost with
out interruption for six weeks
asked which of his books was the result of
this frenzy; he replied "Bracebridge HAIL.
ssNone of your works. l remarked, "are
more charming than the Biography of Gold
smith,
aYet that was written, said he seven more
rapidly than the other' He then added
@When have been engaged on a continuous
work have often been Obliged 10 rise in the
middle of the night light my lamp and write
an hour or two to relieve my mind; and now
that write no more. I am sometimes CON-
PEELED 10 get up in the same way to read.''
Sometimes also as the last Idleyild letter
MENTORS he gels nm 10 shayet
"When l was in Spain.n he remarked
asearchiue the old chronicles and engaged on
the Life of Columbus / often wrote fourteen
or fifteen hours out oil the TWEEN ty four
Ha said tha, uyhanaror hp had forced his
mind nnuiiiinriv to work the producr ,yas
worthless. and he invariably threw il aysav
.nJ har.i, aa;o. .sfor :, a. he observed ...in
assey os 60 ,'h.t bas 200 s,,,Ir b,,,s.,s -
o,, = 20 sa,dnre 800 f,r anxts,;nr Snauthar,s
r;nb, tima -, Ell, 10 ybsn ms Mind - arir,,-
In, re-; " ;~,niaa,;''n i t;nai.d - a.
his nraa;o,,s ,an,nant s. lar HIM vain INV
s - .sa, Ia,. o',na it ~,
.h on r,o .t ~ ,ha,n :, -A'AA '"'A
'AT noa. u .sl Nc loo, and ,,r..,.s. ,,ro,,
~ :f Gu w.sh;ortnn and aSi,ad - h" saI ~
e is % a,, suo,, sasa1 G nc ,ea',
ou nil, M W - my o ~, "s ioooi,
IS saia - i,'sss p'tI 'ie 5ast snItt
~ ,ae , a. vi ne ~ i@trsi .ill ne
Whoie syerk hae ehgFoSsed MS nlnd TO such
$,, a. a ~, az uau VIII
ssard ,h,,s IN me ya;dtT ~ hi ' ,h' ue
sznuld TrlaI- I,;,n =. MN h.fora ~, or,Id , - -;
10, -, =. -, a., e., " nc eouiu emu II
~. 70 -. ~, = 80, 100 VIZ wIit'eh,
cond,etad thr.neh tha nrass o,d ihra'., " ~ Ut
seif hsnt M b;s I'd pnsh;' .na ~ nin-
81, - ne $500; lounge witn
hal the great fe,isna 81 oind ,hrn,nh e att .e
whole tasL had rasnltad f-o, 49, .i's
nains rso n;raa in tha aons,ra sue S',s Gnu
ranyement Of m.,ar;aIs ond 49, -, ., Gnu .. al
literary com noSition Of tha snoaas; ~ 1870.
Rut What magnifcent ,.oIan,as w w. ;.
xvorL for On old no - ~ aoh;o ia. y
tinc ciosa 70 ths iahnr f 49, " I'D. NJ
They mite nm ono nace ava Eli ,,on,S,, ,a.
an one mamory No. opi, ,ra"t r. 80 800. ~
great namesake: the Fa,her of tho n orT az
Renublic and the Father If tho amarinar 'i pl
public of Letters, - 'A' 4'''e' '''i he-
On the narior wall b,,e tho
Feds picture of ssScott and his Cnte,G nora
.ries :" / alluded to il as nresentinp = crnnn of
his former friends
sYesm said he 81 knew eyery man of then,
but three; and now they are ali gone!o
fare the portraits good ~ inquired.
"Scotts head, he replied, lis well drawn.
though the expression lacks something OF
Scott,s force; Campbeli,s is tolerab,e; Lock
lart's is the worst I,ackharf- aid n, 1,,.s N