The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-12-31
EMINENT MEN AND WOMEN.
III. WASHINGTON IRVING.

as the place of Major Andres capture
during the Revolutionary War, and cele-
brated in literature as the scene of many
quaint and fascinating story, told by
the simple and beautiful man who passed
the autumn Of his life in that hallowed
spot, for it was here that Washington
Irving, at the age of fifty-four, purchased
a.small farm, with little stone Dutch !
cottage on it, and, having changed and
beanti6ed it in many ways, bestowed
upon it the name of "Sunny-side,"
name equally applicable to the owner, as
one must see from that genial and win.
some face that smiles upon US from this
page: Theman was in accord with the
place, and his works accorded with both !;
tinctured with delightful humor, an
exquisite faacy, and couched in simple
and beautiful diction, hisstories SEEM to
belong tothe place, and he, as another
s has expressed it, seemed, indeed, to
have stepped out of his own books"
Irsing was born in the city of New
York, April 8, 1888. His parents began
lifeiin humble circumstances, and at this,
their eighth sons birth, lived in an an.
tiquated house on William Street, be.
tween Fulton and John. The Revolu-
tionary War had just closed, and the
parents, being thorough patriots, named
the new born for General Washington.
Some years later, when President Wash
ington visited New York, the first seat of
thes new government, ia Scotch maid: !.
servant of the family followed him into
"a shop, and presenting the lad, said,
Please. your hoaor, here's bairn YVES
named after you. The grave Virginian.
placed his hand on the boys head and !.
gave him his blessing, little dreaming
that he mas honoring his future. biogra:
spher.
Irying's boyhood days were passed in
New York. He is described as having
been full Of yiyacity, drollery, and limo.
cent mischief; he was fond of music and
ofthe theatre, and cared little for study.
His schoul education was of rambling
nature, pursued under several incompe-
tent instructors, and finished at the age
of sixteen. He studied Latin q very
little, but went no farther in the classics,
much preferring such reading as the
Arabian Nights" Robinson Crusoe,"
and books of voyages and travels. He
passed the greater part of his time about
the wharyes, watching the ships as they
set sail for long voyages, and dreaming
of going to the ends of the earth.
AT she age ofSsixteen he entered
I lawyers Office, but such study was ILL.,
adapted to him, and it soon became evi.
dent that neither, his inclination nor his
health cwonld permit its continuance.
His lungs being somewhat weak, le was
sent off on excursions to the neighboring
counties, and as far north as Montreal,
where he improved both physically and;
intellectually. Irving was one of those
lads who learn from observation rather
than from books-and their knowledge
is therefose more simple and natural.
In these wauderings over his native State,
Irving stored his mind with much of that
lore and tradition which lend such 8
charmato his sketches of Dutch Colonial
life.
IrYing's frat literary publication was
series of letters written under the nom de
plume, or pen name, of Jonathan Old
style, and contributed to the Morning
Chronicle, a newspaper owned by his
brother Peter. These letters were but
limitations of similar English produc-
tions, and are important only as showing
the powers OF: the lad at nineteen years
of age.
n Nay, 1904, his brothers determined
to send him to Europe, for the benefit of
his health. In France, in Italy, and in
England. he tarried two years, picking up
languages, enriching his mind from the
greet. wealth of history and fable, and
completely restoring his health. On his
return to America he was admitted to the
bar, but still he maintained supreme
indifference to the law, entering soon
afterward, with his brother Peter, upon
the publication of "Salmagundi," semi
monthly periodical, which ran through
twenty numbers. Its declared purpose
was simply to Instruct the young, re-
form the. old, correct the town, and casti.
gate the age"
ga History of New. York." by Died
rich Knickerbocker, appeared in 1909.
from the pen of Irving. At first it was
intended only as a satire upon the pic
ture of New York, aby DR.. Samuel
Mitchell, but Irv;ng changed his plan
and made it history of the manners
and government under the Dutch rulers.
The mode by which the book was an.
nounced was almost as quaint as the
work itself. Notice appeared in the
newspapers of the sndden disappearance
of small, elderly gentleman, dressed
in an old black coat and cooked hat, by
the name of Knickerbocker." Subse-
quent paragraphs revealed the fact that
he had been last seen in the stage coach,
travelling towards Albany; that he had
gone away owing his landlord; that his
full name was Diedrich Knickerbocker,
ard that he had left behind very
curious and interesting manuscript,
which would be sold to pay his bills if he
did not return. The manuscript was
finally printed and put on the market.
It was success from the first, and, al.
though awakening some angry criticism |
from the descendants of the old Dutch |
families, it yet gained a high place and
stamped the name of "Knickerbocker"
on the metropolis of the New World.
In 1915, Irving again sailed for Eu-
rope, settling in England and remaining |
there for the better part of FIVE years.
In the meantime the business of his
brothers became involved, and they were
finally compelled to 60 into bankruptcy.
This threw Irving on his own resources,
and he determined upon literary life:
He had already formed the plan Of a
ssSketch Book" and the first part of this
was published in America in 1919. 1t
contained two papers: "The Wife" and
Grip Van Winkle." The "Sketch Book
created sensation in this country, and
was soon received with approval in Eng
land. This success, however, did not
tend to excite Irving with new hopes and
aspirations, the rather was he unnerved
by the plaudits of the people. III feel,'
he wrote, aanxious to do something bet
ter. and ut loss what to do," and this
feeling was intensified by his acquaint-
ance and intimacy with nearly all of the
great authors of England and Scotland;
though this intimacy resulted in bringing
his latent energies into play, and his