Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 05.djvu/515

 IRVING

IRVIN

continued through twenty numbers, receiving favorable criticism, and was reprinted in London in 1811. After his fatlier's death, Oct. 25, 1807, he resided with his mother until 1811, w-hen he took up his lodgings with his friend, Henry Bre- voort. Irving devoted himself more and more to literary work, and in conjunction with his brother AVilliam began the "History of New .York " in 1807. In 1809. in the death of his fian- cee, Matilda Hoilman, daughter of Josiah Ogden Hoffman, Washington Irving received a blow from the effects of which he never recovered. Her Bible and prayer book were always with him, and lier picture, a lock of her hair, and a letter written to some woman friend, in which he told of his love for Miss Hoffman and of his hopes of making her his wife, were found among his private papers after his death. He published " Diedrich Knickerbocker's History of New York" in 1809, which gave offence to some New Yorkers, but was read and praised by Americans and Englishmen. Before its appearance its publica- tion was advertised in a unique manner by three notices in the New York Evening Post, the first asking for information about an old gentleman by the name of Knickerbocker who had disap- peared from the Columbia hotel in Mulberry street, the second purporting to come from some one who had seen a man answering the descrip- tion, resting by the wayside in Kingsbridge, N.Y., and the third was a letter signed by the proprietor of the hotel, acknowledging the aid the Evening Post had given him in his five days' search for the old gentleman about which noth- ing satisfactory had yet been heard. He also advertised in this notice that a MS. had been found in the room, in Knickerbocker's handwrit- ing, and that the proprietor intended to dispose of it to pay for the board and lodging of the miss- ing man. The work was a great success, elicit- ing a letter of appreciation from Sir Walter Scott, and netted Irving the sum of $8000. He retired from the law in 1810, and became asilent partner in the firm of P. & E. Irving, merchants. By the terms of the partnership the profits were divided into fifths, the two active partners re- ceiving each two-fifths and Washington one-fifth. In the event of his marriage, however, the profits were to be divided into thirds. He served as an agent for the firm in Washington, D.C., in 1810- 11. In 1811-12 he arranged for a new edition of his " History of New York," and became editor of a periodical published in Philadelphia, Pa., called The Select Revieivs, changing the name to The Analectic Magazine. He also contributed to the magazines throughout the years 1810-14, book reviews and biographical articles on leading military and naval men. He offered his services to Governor Tompkins of New York, after the cap-

ture of Washington, D.C., by the British, and was made his aide and secretary with the rank of col- onel in 1814, serving four months. He was sent to Sacket Harbor to consult with General Brown, commanding the regulars and militia, and with powexs if necessary to order out more militia. He then returned to New York and decided to go to Washington and apply for a position in the regular army. He was, however, detained in Philadelphia attending to the affairs of The Analectic Magazine until news came of the vic- tory at New Orleans and of the treaty of peace. In May, 1815, he sailed for Europe, intending only a short sojourn, but he remained abroad seventeen years. He visited his brother Peter, at Liverpool, and then went to Birmingham, where his sister, Mrs. Van Wart, had a pleasant home, and a number of young children. He also made the acquaintance of Thomas Campbell, Kean. the actor. Sir Walter Scott, the elder Disraeli, John Murray and Mr. Jeffrey. Soon after his arrival in England, the business of the Irving brothers absorbed all his time and attention. Peter, who managed the business in Liverpool, was ill, and the firm's financial standing was in a precarious condition. The death of his mother in 1817 de- termined him to remain another year abroad, and when the firm of P. Irving & Co. went into bankruptcy, Jan. 27, 1818, he decided to devote himself to literature in London. The failure of the firm was a great blow to him, and during the investigation of the affairs by the commissioners, he sought relief in studying the German lan- guage. In August, 1818, he settled in London, determined to earn a living with his pen, and in October, 1818, he refused the office of chief clerk, in the U.S. navy department at Washington which had been secured for him by Commodore Decatur. His literary work enabled him to be the mainstay of the family. He declined the editorship of a periodical in Edinburgh, and one in London, in 1818 ; refused to contribute to the London Quarterly, an anti-American review, and in May, 1819, published in America the first num- ber of " The Sketch Book,"' by " Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." The appearance of the first number, which contained the prospectus, the author's account of himself, and " The Voyage," " Roscoe," "The Wife," and " Rip Van Winkle," created a sensation in literary circles in America, which soon spread to England. In September, 1820, the series were completed. Irving found it difficult to procure a publisher in England, and at last, at his own expense, made arrangements for its pub- lication with an obscure printer, John Miller, who failed at about the time the book was ready for sale. This hindered the sale and left him with a large number of copies on his hands. Sir Walter Scott soon after visited London, and