Washington Irving, 1783-1859. Among those whose works have enriched
American literature, and have given it a place in the estimation of
foreigners, no name stands higher than that of Washington Irving. He was
born in the city of New York; his father was a native of Scotland, and his
mother was English. He had an ordinary school education, and at the age of
sixteen began the study of law. Two of his older brothers were interested
in literary pursuits; and in his youth he studied the old English authors.
He was also passionately fond of books of travel. At the age of nineteen,
he began his literary career by writing for a paper published by his
brother. In 1804 be made a voyage to the south of Europe. On his return he
completed his studies in law, but never practiced his profession.
"Salmagundi," his first book (partly written by others), was published in
1807. This was followed, two years later, by "Knickerbocker's History of
New York." Soon after, he entered into mercantile pursuits in company with
two brothers. At the close at the war with England he sailed again for
Europe, and remained abroad seventeen years. During his absence he formed
the acquaintance of the most eminent literary men of his time, and wrote
several of his works; among them were: "The Sketch Book," "Bracebridge
Hall," "Tales of a Traveler," "Life and Voyages of Columbus," and the
"Conquest of Granada." On his return he made a journey west of the
Mississippi, and gathered materials for several other books. From 1842 to
1846 he was Minister to Spain. On his return to America he established his
residence at "Sunnyside," near Tarrytown, on the Hudson, where he passed
the last years of his life. A young lady to whom he was attached having
died in early life, Mr. Irving never married.
His works are marked by humor, just sentiment, and elegance and
correctness of expression. They were popular both at home and abroad from
the first, and their sale brought him a handsome fortune. The "Life of
Washington," his last work, was completed in the same year in which he
died.
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[Transcriber's Note: See "The Life of Columbus" by Sir Arthur Helps,]
Columbus was a man of great and inventive genius. The operations of his
mind were energetic, but irregular; bursting forth, at times, with that
irresistible force which characterizes intellect of such an order. His
ambition was lofty and noble, inspiring him with high thoughts and an
anxiety to distinguish himself by great achievements. He aimed at dignity
and wealth in the same elevated spirit with which he sought renown; they
were to rise from the territories he should discover, and be commensurate
in importance.
His conduct was characterized by the grandeur of his views and the
magnanimity of his spirit. Instead of ravaging the newly-found countries,
like many of his cotemporary discoverers, who were intent only on
immediate gain, he regarded them with the eyes of a legislator; he sought
to colonize and cultivate them, to civilize the natives, to build cities,
introduce the useful arts, subject everything to the control of law,
order, and religion, and thus to found regular and prosperous empires.
That he failed in this was the fault of the dissolute rabble which it was
his misfortune to command, with whom all law was tyranny and all order
oppression.
He was naturally irascible and impetuous, and keenly sensible to injury
and injustice; yet the quickness of his temper was counteracted by the
generosity and benevolence of his heart. The magnanimity of his nature
shone forth through all the troubles of his stormy career. Though
continually outraged in his dignity, braved in his authority, foiled in
his plans, and endangered in his person by the seditions of turbulent and
worthless men, and that, too, at times when suffering under anguish of
body and anxiety of mind enough to exasperate the most patient, yet he
restrained his valiant and indignant spirit, and brought himself to
forbear, and reason, and even to supplicate. Nor can the reader of the
story of his eventful life fail to notice how free he was from all feeling
of revenge, how ready to forgive and forget on the least sign of
repentance and atonement. He has been exalted for his skill in controlling
others, but far greater praise is due to him for the firmness he displayed
in governing himself.
His piety was genuine and fervent. Religion mingled with the whole course
of his thoughts and actions, and shone forth in his most private and
unstudied writings. Whenever he made any great discovery he devoutly
returned thanks to God. The voice of prayer and the melody of praise rose
from his ships on discovering the new world, and his first action on
landing was to prostrate himself upon the earth and offer up thanksgiving.
All his great enterprises were undertaken in the name of the Holy Trinity,
and he partook of the holy sacrament previous to embarkation. He observed
the festivals of the church in the wildest situations. The Sabbath was to
him a day of sacred rest, on which he would never sail from a port unless
in case of extreme necessity. The religion thus deeply seated in his soul
diffused a sober dignity and a benign composure over his whole deportment;
his very language was pure and guarded, and free from all gross or
irreverent expressions.
A peculiar trait in his rich and varied character remains to be noticed;
namely, that ardent and enthusiastic imagination which threw a
magnificence over his whole course of thought. A poetical temperament is
discernible throughout all his writings and in all his actions. We see it
in all his descriptions of the beauties of the wild land he was
discovering, in the enthusiasm with which he extolled the blandness of the
temperature, the purity of the atmosphere, the fragrance of the air, "full
of dew and sweetness," the verdure of the forests, the grandeur of the
mountains, and the crystal purity of the running streams. It spread a
glorious and golden world around him, and tinged everything with its own
gorgeous colors.
With all the visionary fervor of his imagination, its fondest dreams fell
short of the reality. He died in ignorance of the real grandeur of his
discovery. Until his last breath, he entertained the idea that he had
merely opened a new way to the old resorts of opulent commerce, and had
discovered some of the wild regions of the East. What visions of glory
would have broken upon his mind could he have known that he had indeed
discovered a new continent equal to the old world in magnitude, and
separated by two vast oceans from all the earth hitherto known by
civilized man! How would his magnanimous spirit have been consoled amid
the afflictions of age and the cares of penury, the neglect of a fickle
public and the injustice of an ungrateful king, could he have anticipated
the splendid empires which would arise in the beautiful world he had
discovered, and the nations, and tongues, and languages which were to fill
its land with his renown, and to revere and bless his name to the latest
posterity!
NOTE.--Christopher Columbus (b. 1436, d. 1506) was the son of a wool
comber of Genoa. At the age of fifteen he became a sailor, and in his
voyages visited England, Iceland, the Guinea coast, and the Greek Isles.
He was an earnest student of navigation, of cosmography, and of books of
travel; thus he thoroughly prepared himself for the great undertaking
which led to the discovery of America. He struggled against every
discouragement for almost ten years before he could persuade a sovereign
to authorize and equip his expedition.