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
