gines. The brothers started with the Creation of the World, and it would seem the work on the original plan was not far from completion in April 1808, but at this point it was left for a time, and in the course of the year Washington undertook two journeys to Montreal, for a commercial house, besides translating from the French one volume of a work of two volumes for Isaac Riley the bookseller. On his return from Montreal he was much disappointed to find that his brother Peter had again sailed for Europe, leaving Washington to proceed with the "History of New York." It was under these circumstances that the entire plan of the work was changed; and, with incredible labour, the ponderous mass of notes which had been taken for the first book, as a burlesque of erudition and pedantry, were compressed into five introductory chapters, and the residue of the work was exclusively his own. When the work was far advanced towards completion, the author suffered a loss which for a time left him little heart for work, and probably gave a colour to the whole of his existence. He was ardently attached to the second daughter of Mr. Hoffman, and the point to which all his hopes were turning, was a union with her, though he was not of a nature to have been easily led into the imprudence of involving another in his own lot, without some reliable source of income, and his anxiety on this subject was greater than at any other time; but in the midst of all his speculations came the blow by which his dearest hopes were overthrown; Matilda

Hoffman, the intended sharer of his lot in life, closed her brief existence in New York, on the 26th April, 1809, in the eighteenth year of her age. It is an indication of the depth of his feeling on this subject, that he never alluded to this part of his history or mentioned her name even to his most intimate friends, and in this light of his history, some parts of his article on rural funerals in the "Sketch Book," and also that passage in "St. Mark's Eve" in "Bracebridge Hall," beginning, "I have loved as I never again shall love in this world-I have been loved as I never again shall be loved"-should be interpreted.

During his retirement, consequent on this affliction, he was occasionally employed in preparing his "History of New York" for the press, and in the November following, he repaired to Philadelphia to superintend its publication. Though he took the manuscript with him in a complete state, yet he afterwards (as was not unusual with him) made some alterations, and it was here he wrote the "Journey of Peter Stuyvesant up the Hudson, and the enumeration of the Army." The writing of it was on this wise:

Coming late to his lodgings one night, and finding himself locked out, he repaired to the quarters of a bachelor friend, but could not sleep after gaining admittance. The idea of that journey flashed upon him during his restlessness, and so rapidly did the images crowd upon him, that he rose from the bed to procure a light, but being unable to find the candle, he, after stumbling about for some time, to the wonder and annoyance

of his sleepy companion, obtained a piece of paper and a pencil, and in the dark jotted down some of his impressions. The next morning he stopped the press till he had finished his article, and secured its admission.

On the 6th of December, 1809, the announcement of its publication appeared so worded, as to give the impression that it was a sober matterof-fact history of the Dutch founders of that city; an impression that its dedication "To the New York Historical Society" tended to confirm. It is easy to imagine the astonishment of many (and especially the descendants of the old Dutch worthies) to find that the author had seized upon "the events which compose the history of the three Dutch governors of New York," merely as a vehicle to convey a world of satire, whim, and ludicrous description.

Sir Walter Scott was the first British author to bear witness to the merits of " Knickerbocker," and wrote to the author a highly commendatory letter expressing the kindliest feeling. Soon after the publication of "Knickerbocker's History,' Washington was urged by his friends to become a candidate for a clerkship in one of the Courts in New York, but he failed to secure the office.

In 1810, he wrote a brief biography of Campbell, the poet, for an edition of "Gertrude of Wyoming," which was published in Philadelphia, and this was all that came from his pen during the year; indeed, his literary pursuits seemed brought to a stand-still, and for some time he was under great anxiety to procure some employment that

would yield him a steady income, when he received a letter from his brother Peter, then in London, stating that another brother, Ebenezer, had proposed a business connection, which Washington eagerly embraced. The firm traded as P. and E. Irving, in New York, and P. Irving and Co., in England. Peter made the purchases and shipments at Liverpool, while Ebenezer conducted the sales at New York. The profits were divided into fifths, each of the managing partners to have twofifths, and Washington to have one-fifth, with a proviso, that in case the latter married, or took an active part, the profits were to be equally divided. Washington's duties were only occasional, so that he had leisure to indulge his literary tastes. The war between Great Britain and the United States, which broke out in June, 1812, presented no very comfortable prospect to the merchant, and Washington entertained the most serious forebodings of its effects on commercial interests. It was probably these forebodings that turned his thoughts once more into the channel of literature, and he was induced to undertake the conduct of a periodical, entitled the Select Reviews, at a salary of 1500 dollars, the name being changed to the Analectic Magazine, when he assumed the editorship. His contributions extended through the years 1813, 14, and 15, but the labour, which he had hoped to find mere pastime, proved very irksome. His aversion to criticism was pointed, and he thus expresses himself in one of his articles; "I do not profess the art and mystery of reviewing, and am

com

not ambitious of being wise and facetious at the expense of others." Irving deeply regretted that the differences between England and the States, had resulted in war; but hostilities once menced, his sympathies were with his country; and shortly after the British army entered Washington, he offered his services to Governor Tomkins, who made him his aide-de-camp and secretary, with the rank of colonel. In 1815, the publisher of the Analectic Magazine failed. On the 25th of May, Irving sailed for England, little dreaming that seventeen years would elapse before he again saw America. When he landed in Liverpool, the first spectacle that he specially noted was the mail-coaches decked with laurel, bearing the tidings of the battle of Waterloo, and flight of Napoleon. He spent a short time with his brother Peter in Liverpool, and then went to visit his sister, the wife of Mr. H. Van Wart, of Birmingham. The illness of his brother Peter caused his speedy return to Liverpool, where he undertook the management of the business, and found cause for much uneasiness, from the idea that their purchases exceeded what was prudent with a limited capital. His constant injunction to his brother Ebenezer, were not to flag, but to remit continually till the goods were paid for. At this time he was burdened with all the anxiety of a merchant with a failing business; but the recovery of his brother Peter gave him more leisure to look about him, and early in August, 1817, he arrived in London, and had interviews with several publishers, which did not however lead to any satisfactory arrangement; he afterwards visited Scot