The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-06-18

wv uASNNNtHa
my quotation OF this incident may
DC oil service petChanco 10 some pessons
uthohR your readers who may have Il
purpose to ono the ugitu,ion ovcr ut
Martins Ferry, TO which ! have alluded.
II may warn them nguinst propoaing
anything that would DO o w%art.on.thC.
ONO. This IL not tho lrut tinc In tho
history Of tho world when matters Of
'"grcat pith and moment" have been
Killed by u alp Of tho tongue. There.
ioro beware OF thcm.
On tho day prior 10 tho Dobba Forty
celebration l wont down to tho inter.
mediate village Of l~rvincton. so called
IN honor Of Washington Irving, whose
"~SunnySido" homo IL s,ill there, where
no lived from 1896 up 10 the year OF his
death, 1850. Everything Ia n village in
thia country. TGtrytown has a6ou, TO-
0NO inhabitants, anu yet II Is Il village.
Dobbs Ferry has close upon 5000 md 1t
also 10 u village. frvington IL au inter
modluto rw, IN ur5s succession OF COIN.
try seats that constitute u strung out
municipality, and It likewise Isl vilIage.
II | were to walk from hero down to
"Spuyten Duvyl' crock 1t would be
through II succession Of these charming
suburban municipalities. They uro nll
really q part OF the ".rcatCr New YoriS'
that likO"grca.ct London" includes all
the country round about for twenty-five
or thirty miles.
iRvISG's HOME.
You huyo secn tho celebrated picture
called washington lrving and His
Erienda." When I was Il boy I used 20
imagine all those people as present q!
one and tho same timo around Irving in
his home. whore. you will rccolIcct, no
sits in tho midst OF them all In his arm.
chair, with his shapoly houd turned to
ono aide. resting gently o his thumb
and index finger. Now that havo my.
soil eat In that chair OF tho great author
In the sunnyside Cottage. and talked 10
tho two remaining monbors OF bis
household, l havo soon that nowhere in
that much divided up little building
was there roo for such a representa-.
1.-Two asaomblagc OF his friends and ad.
n!rorH o that ample picture groups
around him. Tho cottage is as quaint
mud picturesque az lIawthorne's 'houae
Of seven gablcs," and was apparently
tho result OF an odd conceit OF Irving to
reproduce q mixture OF something that
had struck his fancy during his extern.
eivo rnmbios In Europe. especially in
Holland. for certainly no had no pat
tern TO follow in this country. Tho
uuclcua Of it was u Dutch cottage that
had stood there whom no was a boy lat
the time ho used TO leave tho city and
come up hero and roam around the
precincts OF sleepy HOLLOWAY, and that
was purt OF an estate belonging to one
Of the Van Tassels. q name that no i'm
m0rtaIizcd in tho story OF "lclahOd
Crane and the Headlcas Horseman."
Provided With u note OF Introduction
from the former pastor OF Washington
Irving here, (who still otliciatos at the
samo Episcopal church), tho Rev. DR..
Spencer, | called on the two venerable
ladies', the Misses Sarah and Catherine
Irving, who are two OF the nicces to
whom he hcquoathed tho cottage and
its few acres, and who continue to Occu-
py 1t every summer, and who gave me
4 most cordial reception and q very
gratifying visit throughout. You will
recall the letters 10 these nieces in the
volumes containing hia charming do.
mcstic and social correspondence. They
are the remaining two OF the five uieccs
who lived with him at the cottage in
his life tino, and who constituted tho
"Womankind't to whom he SO Affection
ately refers in his letters ms making up
his happy domestic circle. AS you
know, Washington Irving never mar
ried. His f~lancce, Matilda Hoffman,
died In her .sc7entneuth year, and he
mourned her evcr afterwards, and died
with her miniature and prayer book
within reach Of his pillow. Tho old
ladies talked to me Of this fair young
creature who WIS his lost Lenoro. and
remarked upon tho singular way aho
wore her hair and the spiritucile cx-
pression o. her striking face Tho min.
iature certainly indicates q very unusual
character, and Irving's raro aud luxuri-
GUS imagination may vol have invested
hot with angelic qualities. In the
courso OF conversation on this topic I
referred to the appendix to his He and
letters brought out by q British pnb.
Usher, in which an account Ia given OF q
second attachment formed at Dresden,
In Germany, for N English lady CO.
journ,ng there, but tho old ladies, who
had never seen this appendix, Mt onco
discroditcd it. and expressed their be-
lief that tho true story Of bis life and
love had been told in tho original
American biography.
The namc OF Washington irving holds
a spoil Of %enchantment not only ovor
the grounds ut Sunnysido and their i'm
mediate environments at lrvingtou
but over the entire viclnsge Of
this region; Indeed all tho way
UP aud down tho river from
its source to its outlet. What tho gen.
ius and tho pom Of Scott was to the high
lands and lowlands Of Scotland tho
genius and tho pen OF Irving was TO the
highlands and lowlands OF the Hudson.
Ono who knew him wGll says that tho
literary onthusiasns OF his life were
chiefly his knickerbocker studies-thope
associated with tho carly Dutch settlers
of Manhattan Island and the Hudson
river valley. His legendary loro OF tho
Hudson added to it's historic lore has
made i. tho classic river OF Amorica.
An AHEcDoTE OF IRVING.
The Rev. Mr.. Spencer to whom | have
alluded has many delightful reminds.
cences OF Irving. The great author was
q ves,ryman OF his church during all
the latter part OF his life, and also q
warden. Ho told NIr. Spencer ono day
that he had passed the contribution
plato 40 long up and down his aide OF
tho church that he had como to feel like
Al "A l.a-asLll aaAn