"He was thoroughly a gentleman, not merely in external manners and
looks, but to the innermost fibres and core of his heart;
sweet-tempered, gentle, fastidious, sensitive, and gifted with
warmest affections; the most delightful and invariably interesting
companion; gay and full of humor, even in spite of occasional fits
of melancholy, which he was, however, seldom subject to when with
those he liked; a gift of conversation that flowed like a full
river in sunshine,--bright, easy, and abundant."
In his fiftieth year he returned to America, far from rich, though he
had made money from his books. Although he had thought he could not
support a family of his own, he found himself with two brothers and
several nieces upon his hands for whom he must provide. He was very fond
of them all; and, being the least selfish of men, enjoyed making them
all comfortable. But to do so he had to be industrious with his pen, and
he never gave himself much rest. He bought a home at Tarrytown, upon the
Hudson, which he called Sunnyside, and where he resided till his death.
The farm had on it a small Dutch cottage, built about a century before,
and inhabited by the Van Tassels. This was enlarged, still preserving
the quaint Dutch characteristics; it acquired a tower and a whimsical
weathercock, the delight of the owner, and became one of the most snug
and picturesque residences on the river. A slip of Melrose ivy was
planted, and soon overrun the house; and there were shaded nooks and
wooded retreats, and a pretty garden.
It soon became the dearest spot on earth for him; and although it ate up
his money almost as fast as he could earn it, he never thought of
parting with it. The little cottage soon became well stocked. He
writes:--
"I have Ebenezer's five girls, and himself also whenever he can be
spared from town, sister Catherine and her daughter, and occasional
visits from all the family connection."
Thackeray describes him as having nine nieces on his hands, and makes a
woful face over the fact. He dispensed a charming hospitality here, and
no friend who ever visited him forgot the pleasure. He was a most genial
and cordial host, and loved much to have his friends bring the children,
of whom he was passionately fond. His nieces watched over his welfare
with most tender solicitude; and the cottage at Sunnyside, although
without a mistress, was truly a home.
It was with great reluctance that he left it after his appointment as
minister to Spain, and all the pleasure he received from that high mark
of the appreciation of his country did not compensate him for the
hardship of leaving home. During this third visit to Europe "it is easy
to see that life has grown rather sombre to Irving,--the glamour is
gone, he is subject to few illusions. The show and pageantry no longer
enchant; they only weary." He writes home: "Amidst all the splendors of
London and Paris I find my imagination refuses to take fire, and my
heart still yearns after dear little Sunnyside." Those were exciting
times in Spain, and Irving entered into all the dramatic interest of the
situation with a real enthusiasm, and wrote most interesting letters to
friends at home, describing the melodrama in which he had sometimes an
even perilous interest. Throughout his four years' stay the excitement
continued, and the duties of minister were sometimes perplexing enough.
From the midst of court life, in 1845, he wrote:--
"I long to be back once more at dear little Sunnyside, while I have
yet strength and good spirits to enjoy the simple pleasures of the
country, and to rally a happy family group once more around me. I
grudge every year of absence that rolls by. To-morrow I shall be
sixty-two years old. The evening of life is fast drawing over me;
still I hope to get back among my friends while there is a little
sunshine left."
In 1846 he did return, and enjoyed thirteen years more of happy life
there.