The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

ner and so wove into, surrounded it,
clothed it and fed II with his own
quiet genius that the story of RIP
Van Wrinkle" seems to be wholly orig
inal In all respects. In none of his
stories does Irving more prefectly dis
play that serenity of mind which char
acterizes himself and by means of
which he could throw a charm of Sc
renity over the creations of his fancy.
Irving published the story of RIP
Van Wrinkle" first in his Sketchbook-
in this country in 1919 and in England
in 1920.
o one who has ever assembled the
M lordly Hudson can forget the
L Catskill mountains, or as they
were earlier known, the Kaats Kills
or Kauterskills. Washington Irving
called them the Kaatskills and that
name will do. Irving's description of
these mountains is inimitable and is
in part. as follows:
"Lording it over the surrounding
country every change of season, every
change of weather, indeed every hour
of the day, produces some change la
the magical hues and shapes of these
mountains. and they are regarded by
all the good wives far and near as
perfect barometers. When the wealth
err is fair and settled they are clothed
in blue and purple and print tn cir
bold outlines on the clear evening sky.
But sometimes, when the rest of the
. landscape is cloudless, they will gather
hood of gray vapors about their sum-
mits which, in the last rays of the
setting sun, will glow and light up
like a crown of glory
1t was at the foot of these wonder
full mountains, in an ancient house IN
an ancient and drowsy Dutch village,
that the immortal Rip Van Wrinkle
had his abode. The shingled roofs of
the little village showed above the
trees just where the fresh green of
the nearer land as seen from the river
began to melt into the blue tints of
the upland. The village was founded
away back in the days of the reign of
Good Peter Stuyvesant (may he rest in
peace and some of the houses wer.
of yellow bricks brought over from
Holland. The Van Wrinkle homestead
was a sadly time worn and wealth err
beaten structure and its appearance
was not such as to give the lie to
Dame Van Wrinkle, who loudly de-
clared in season and out of season that
Rip would rather do anything than at
tend to his work around home or any
q SO IA Oh in, a.
In fact, Rip seems to have been as
lazy as his wife was shrewdish-and
the combination did not make for the
good of either of them or for the pros
perity of the Van Wrinkle home.
But Rip Van Wrinkle was a kind neigh
Dor, always ready to give his help in any
thing-giving to the affairs of others, In
TACT, an energy which he refused to give
to his own. But what was the use OF
his working on the little farm of mis-
which under his fostering care had now
shrunk to patches of Indian corn and
potatoes? Rip said himself that when he
really felt like working on his land il
rained and he could not-and the land
was no good any way, the most unpro-
ductive soil in the village. But at q
husking, or any sort of gathering where
labor and jollity were mixed in equal
proportions, Rip was foremost among the
gay and first among the workers. The chill
dren of the village would shout for JOY
when they saw Rip coming down the
street and he could spare hours to the
srduous task of telling them stories of
witches, Indians and fairies. The chill
dren used to Chamber upon his back nd
hang to the tails of his coat; and not
dog in the village would bark at him. So
Rip could not have been such bad sort
of fellow after all. The women of the
village all took Rips part in his domestic
contentious and declared the whole blame
was Dame Van Wrinkles. Also they
pointed out the fact that SO far from
being lazy Rip would trudge through the
woods and over the mountains all day,
carrying his heavy fowlingpiece In mis-
hands and when it came to persistency.
had he rot been known many DAYS 20 sit
on a wet rock from dawning to sunset
with fishing rod in his hands as big as
Tartar's lance and never complain even
though he should not get a single nibble l?
Mr.. Washington Irving, who knew the
Van Wrinkle family well, is of the opinion
that Rips popularity abroad was owing
to a meekness of spirit, for those men
are most apt to be conciiatng abroad
who are under the discipline of shrews
at home, their tempers being rendered
p.sent and malleabe in the fiery furnace
~ domestic tribulaton. termagant
wife may, therefore, be blessing. Poor
RIP! His wife scolded him continually,
his COWS had a wonderful genius Cor
straying into other peoples pastures--or
preferably their gardens-his fences would
persist in falling down and his children
ran about as ragged and wild as If they
belonged to nobody. Rip never attempted
to reply to the TRADES of his wife, but
simply would shrug his shoulders, cast
UP his eyes. shake his head and gay
nothing. But even this forbearance did
not favorably impress Dame Van Wrinkle
and was always answered by fresh
volley, SO that Rip was faIn to betake
himself to the only side of house which
belongs to henpecked man-the outside
Rip, however, had one friend and CON-
panion in his househod-his dog, Wolf
who was regarded by the dame as an
alder and abettor Of his master In his
worthlessness and ideness.
There was an old tavern In the village
I quiet, drowsy sort of tavern, as be-
came the drowsy community where peace