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Authors: Washington Irving
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His remains were deposited in the family vault, under a chapel which he had piously erected on his estate, and dedicated to St. Nicholas,—and which stood on the identical spot at present occupied by St. Mark’s church, where his tombstone is still to be seen. His estate, or
bouwery,
as it was called, has ever continued in the possession of his descendants, who, by the uniform integrity of their conduct, and their strict adherence to the customs and manners that prevailed in the “good old
times,”
have proved themselves worthy of their illustrious ancestor. Many a time and oft has the farm been haunted at night by enterprising money-diggers, in quest of pots of gold, said to have been buried by the old governor, though I cannot learn that any of them have ever been enriched by their researches; and who is there, among my native-born fellow-citizens, that does not remember when, in the mischievous days of his boyhood, he conceived it a great exploit to rob “Stuyvesant’s orchard” on a holiday afternoon?
bouwery,
as it was called, has ever continued in the possession of his descendants, who, by the uniform integrity of their conduct, and their strict adherence to the customs and manners that prevailed in the “good old
times,”
have proved themselves worthy of their illustrious ancestor. Many a time and oft has the farm been haunted at night by enterprising money-diggers, in quest of pots of gold, said to have been buried by the old governor, though I cannot learn that any of them have ever been enriched by their researches; and who is there, among my native-born fellow-citizens, that does not remember when, in the mischievous days of his boyhood, he conceived it a great exploit to rob “Stuyvesant’s orchard” on a holiday afternoon?
At this stronghold of the family may still be seen certain memorials of the immortal Peter. His full-length portrait frowns in martial terrors from the parlor-wall; his cocked hat and sword still hang up in the best bedroom; his brimstone- colored breeches were for a long while suspended in the hall, until some years since they occasioned a dispute between a new-married couple; and his silver-mounted wooden leg is still treasured up in the store-room, as an invaluable relique.
Endnotes
Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.1
(p. 7)
Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.:
Irving’s first publication,
Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.,
appeared serially in the New York
Morning Chronicle
from November 15, 1802, to April 23, 1803. The
Chronicle
was a pro-Burrite paper edited by Irving’s brother Peter. (The Burrites were a faction of the Democratic-Republican party led by Aaron Burr [1756-1836], the prominent New York politician who became Thomas Jefferson’s vice president following the election of 1800.) The first two of the nine letters are included in this edition because they exemplify Irving’s early efforts to establish a satiric narrative voice. Although he was only nineteen at the time, Irving assumed the narrative persona of an elderly bachelor critical of “the degeneracy of the present times” (p. 13). In his nostalgia for an idyllic past, Oldstyle anticipates Irving’s better-known narrators Diedrich Knickerbocker (A
History of New York)
and Geoffrey Crayon
(The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.).
These letters also reflect the cultural instability of the post-Revolutionary period, in which social values and political opinions seemed to change as quickly as fashion—“they fly from one extreme to the other” (p. 9).
(p. 7)
Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.:
Irving’s first publication,
Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.,
appeared serially in the New York
Morning Chronicle
from November 15, 1802, to April 23, 1803. The
Chronicle
was a pro-Burrite paper edited by Irving’s brother Peter. (The Burrites were a faction of the Democratic-Republican party led by Aaron Burr [1756-1836], the prominent New York politician who became Thomas Jefferson’s vice president following the election of 1800.) The first two of the nine letters are included in this edition because they exemplify Irving’s early efforts to establish a satiric narrative voice. Although he was only nineteen at the time, Irving assumed the narrative persona of an elderly bachelor critical of “the degeneracy of the present times” (p. 13). In his nostalgia for an idyllic past, Oldstyle anticipates Irving’s better-known narrators Diedrich Knickerbocker (A
History of New York)
and Geoffrey Crayon
(The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.).
These letters also reflect the cultural instability of the post-Revolutionary period, in which social values and political opinions seemed to change as quickly as fashion—“they fly from one extreme to the other” (p. 9).
2
(p. 11)
There is nothing that seems more strange and preposterous to me than the manner in which modern marriages are conducted:
Oldstyle’s comments on courtship and marriage can be usefully compared with the romantic characterization of marriage in Irving’s sketch “The Wife” (p. 65) and with the satire on courtship in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (p. 162). The attitude toward marriage in Irving’s writings is often conflicted, and his female characters are either idealized beauties or shrewish wives.
Salmagundi(p. 11)
There is nothing that seems more strange and preposterous to me than the manner in which modern marriages are conducted:
Oldstyle’s comments on courtship and marriage can be usefully compared with the romantic characterization of marriage in Irving’s sketch “The Wife” (p. 65) and with the satire on courtship in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (p. 162). The attitude toward marriage in Irving’s writings is often conflicted, and his female characters are either idealized beauties or shrewish wives.
1
(p. 15)
Salmagundi: Salmagundi; or, The Whim- Whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. & Others
was a series of twenty pamphlets jointly written by Irving, his brother William, and their friend James Kirke Paulding and published over the course of a year, from January 24, 1807, to January 25, 1808. This selection includes the introductory remarks from the first number, the “Letters from Mustapha” from nos. III, VII, and XI, and the authors’ farewell in the final number. Of the three Mustapha letters, Bruce I. Granger and Martha Hartzog—the editors who prepared the modern scholarly edition of Salmagundi for The
Complete
Works of Washington Irving, vol. 6 (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1977; see “For Further Reading”)—definitively attribute to Irving only the one written for no. XI. The two others have been included in this edition to give readers a more complete sense of how the Mustapha series is a satire on America’s evolving democratic process. Besides these obvious political satires, the pages of Salmagundi lampoon a range of subjects in an effort “to do justice to this queer, odd, rantipole city, and to this whimsical country” (p. 44).
(p. 15)
Salmagundi: Salmagundi; or, The Whim- Whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. & Others
was a series of twenty pamphlets jointly written by Irving, his brother William, and their friend James Kirke Paulding and published over the course of a year, from January 24, 1807, to January 25, 1808. This selection includes the introductory remarks from the first number, the “Letters from Mustapha” from nos. III, VII, and XI, and the authors’ farewell in the final number. Of the three Mustapha letters, Bruce I. Granger and Martha Hartzog—the editors who prepared the modern scholarly edition of Salmagundi for The
Complete
Works of Washington Irving, vol. 6 (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1977; see “For Further Reading”)—definitively attribute to Irving only the one written for no. XI. The two others have been included in this edition to give readers a more complete sense of how the Mustapha series is a satire on America’s evolving democratic process. Besides these obvious political satires, the pages of Salmagundi lampoon a range of subjects in an effort “to do justice to this queer, odd, rantipole city, and to this whimsical country” (p. 44).
2
(p. 21) Several
Tripolitan prisoners ...
were brought to New
York, ...
restore them to their own
country.
—Paris Ed.
[Irving’s
note] : Irving refers here to the long-standing conflict between the United States and the Barbary states—northern Africa’s Tripolitania, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco—whose main port was Tripoli (now the capital of Libya). Tripoli served as the home base of the Barbary pirates, who targeted trade routes along the coast of northern Africa. In the First Barbary War, also known as the Tripolitan War (1801-1805), commander William Bainbridge was captured while trying to enforce a blockade of the harbor at Tripoli. The war serves as the historical backdrop for Irving’s satirical treatment of American politics in the “Letters from Mustapha.”
(p. 21) Several
Tripolitan prisoners ...
were brought to New
York, ...
restore them to their own
country.
—Paris Ed.
[Irving’s
note] : Irving refers here to the long-standing conflict between the United States and the Barbary states—northern Africa’s Tripolitania, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco—whose main port was Tripoli (now the capital of Libya). Tripoli served as the home base of the Barbary pirates, who targeted trade routes along the coast of northern Africa. In the First Barbary War, also known as the Tripolitan War (1801-1805), commander William Bainbridge was captured while trying to enforce a blockade of the harbor at Tripoli. The war serves as the historical backdrop for Irving’s satirical treatment of American politics in the “Letters from Mustapha.”
3
(p. 21)
who understands all languages, not excepting that manufactured by Psalmanazar:
The reference is to George Psalmanazar (1679?-1763), an English literary imposter whose real name is not known. He published
An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa
(1704) and invented and taught to students at Oxford University a fictional “Formosan” language. His ruse was discovered in 1706, and he was forced to publicly acknowledge the fraud. Irving likely knew his posthumously published
Memoirs of—, Commonly Known by the Name George Psalmanazar
(1764). Psalmanazar may have provided the example Irving followed when he staged the literary hoax of Diedrich Knickerbocker’s disappearance to advertise the publication of
A History of New York
(see the Introduction, p. xxiii).
(p. 21)
who understands all languages, not excepting that manufactured by Psalmanazar:
The reference is to George Psalmanazar (1679?-1763), an English literary imposter whose real name is not known. He published
An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa
(1704) and invented and taught to students at Oxford University a fictional “Formosan” language. His ruse was discovered in 1706, and he was forced to publicly acknowledge the fraud. Irving likely knew his posthumously published
Memoirs of—, Commonly Known by the Name George Psalmanazar
(1764). Psalmanazar may have provided the example Irving followed when he staged the literary hoax of Diedrich Knickerbocker’s disappearance to advertise the publication of
A History of New York
(see the Introduction, p. xxiii).
4
(p. 24)
The present bashaw:
“Bashaw,” or “pasha,” is a Turkish term that refers to a man of high rank. The reference here is to Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States (1801-1809). The “Letters of Mustapha” are consistently critical of Jefferson and his administration, lampooning his involvement in the Tripolitan War, presenting him as a disengaged dilettante, and satirizing his rejection of the Bible on scientific grounds (see pp. 28-29). A supporter of the Federalists (advocates of a strong federal government), Irving was sympathetic to those who thought the Jeffersonian Republicans were reducing the government to a “mobocracy” (see pp. 26-27).
(p. 24)
The present bashaw:
“Bashaw,” or “pasha,” is a Turkish term that refers to a man of high rank. The reference here is to Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States (1801-1809). The “Letters of Mustapha” are consistently critical of Jefferson and his administration, lampooning his involvement in the Tripolitan War, presenting him as a disengaged dilettante, and satirizing his rejection of the Bible on scientific grounds (see pp. 28-29). A supporter of the Federalists (advocates of a strong federal government), Irving was sympathetic to those who thought the Jeffersonian Republicans were reducing the government to a “mobocracy” (see pp. 26-27).
5
(p. 26) No.
VII.
—
Saturday, April
4,
1807:
In this second “Letter from Mustapha,” the authors of
Salmagundi
coin a new term to describe America’s political system. Because of the seemingly endless debates characteristic of the democratic process, they describe it as a
“logocracy,
or government of words” (p. 27). The extent to which public opinion can be influenced by the press is a theme Irving returned to in his sketch “English Writers on America”: “Over no nation does the press hold a more absolute control than over the people of America” (p. 95).
(p. 26) No.
VII.
—
Saturday, April
4,
1807:
In this second “Letter from Mustapha,” the authors of
Salmagundi
coin a new term to describe America’s political system. Because of the seemingly endless debates characteristic of the democratic process, they describe it as a
“logocracy,
or government of words” (p. 27). The extent to which public opinion can be influenced by the press is a theme Irving returned to in his sketch “English Writers on America”: “Over no nation does the press hold a more absolute control than over the people of America” (p. 95).
6
(p. 43)
In compliance with
... : The subsequent paragraphs are the editors’ farewell to their readership in the final number of
Salmagundi.
Paulding and the Irvings decided to end the series after their publisher, David Longworth, took out copyright in his name and raised the price to one shilling.
The Sketch-Book(p. 43)
In compliance with
... : The subsequent paragraphs are the editors’ farewell to their readership in the final number of
Salmagundi.
Paulding and the Irvings decided to end the series after their publisher, David Longworth, took out copyright in his name and raised the price to one shilling.
1
(p. 47)
The Sketch-Book: The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
was published consecutively in the United States and England. The first American edition appeared in seven paperbound numbers between June 23, 1819, and September 13, 1820. When several sketches from the early numbers were reprinted in British newspapers, Irving, fearing that a pirated edition would be published in England, arranged for a volume of the first four numbers to be published in London. He later arranged for the publication of a revised English edition that included the two Native American sketches “Traits of Indian Character” and “Philip of Pokanoket” and also the concluding “L’Envoy.” The publication history of
The Sketch-Book
is of interest because it shows Irving’s efforts to negotiate the transatlantic audience that American writers had to confront in the early decades of the nineteenth century. The first American edition began with the following “Prospectus”:
(p. 47)
The Sketch-Book: The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
was published consecutively in the United States and England. The first American edition appeared in seven paperbound numbers between June 23, 1819, and September 13, 1820. When several sketches from the early numbers were reprinted in British newspapers, Irving, fearing that a pirated edition would be published in England, arranged for a volume of the first four numbers to be published in London. He later arranged for the publication of a revised English edition that included the two Native American sketches “Traits of Indian Character” and “Philip of Pokanoket” and also the concluding “L’Envoy.” The publication history of
The Sketch-Book
is of interest because it shows Irving’s efforts to negotiate the transatlantic audience that American writers had to confront in the early decades of the nineteenth century. The first American edition began with the following “Prospectus”:
The following writings are published on experiment; should they please they may be followed by others. The writer will have to contend with some disadvantages. He is unsettled in his abode, subject to interruptions, and has his share of cares and vicissitudes. He cannot therefore promise a regular plan, nor regular periods of publication. Should he be encouraged to proceed, much time may elapse between the appearance of his numbers; and their size must depend on the materials he has on hand. His writings will partake of the fluctuations of his own thoughts and feelings; sometimes treating of scenes before him; sometimes of others purely imaginary, and sometimes wandering back with his recollections to his native country. He will not be able to give them that tranquil attention necessary to finished composition, and as they must be transmitted across the Atlantic for publication, he must trust to others to correct the frequent errors of the press. Should his writings, however, with all their imperfections, be well received, he cannot conceal that it would be a source of the purest gratification, for though he does not aspire to those high honours that are the rewards of loftier intellects; yet it is the dearest wish of his heart to have a secure, and cherished, though humble, corner in the good opinions and kind feelings of his countrymen.
London, 1819
The first English edition began with the following “Advertisement”:
The following desultory papers are part of a series written in this country, but published in America. The author is aware of the austerity with which the writings of his countrymen have hitherto been treated by British critics: he is conscious, too, that much of the contents of his papers can be interesting only in the eyes of his American readers. It was not his intention, therefore, to have them reprinted in this country. He has, however, observed several of them from time to time inserted in periodical works of merit, and has understood that it was probable they would be republished in a collective form. He has been induced, therefore, to revise and bring them forward himself, that they may at least come correctly before the public. Should they be deemed of sufficient importance to attract the attention of critics, he solicits for them that courtesy and candour which a stranger has some right to claim, who presents himself at the threshold of a hospitable nation.
February, 1820
The selections from The Sketch-Book included in this edition are meant to exhibit Irving’s conscious efforts to appeal to both British and American readers.
2
(p. 49) The Author’s
Account
of
Himself:
In “The Author’s Account of Himself” Irving identifies Great Britain (and, by extension, “Old Europe”) as a repository of history and cultural traditions—the raw materials of fiction that American writers lacked. Although an American “never need ... look beyond his own country for the sublime and beautiful of natural scenery,” he must turn to Europe for “the charms of storied and poetical association ... the masterpieces of art, the refinements of highly-cultivated society, the quaint peculiarities of ancient and local custom” (p. 50). In his stories set in Sleepy Hollow and in his use of the Dutch colonial history of New York, Irving works to construct a comparable set of “storied and poetical associations” for America.
(p. 49) The Author’s
Account
of
Himself:
In “The Author’s Account of Himself” Irving identifies Great Britain (and, by extension, “Old Europe”) as a repository of history and cultural traditions—the raw materials of fiction that American writers lacked. Although an American “never need ... look beyond his own country for the sublime and beautiful of natural scenery,” he must turn to Europe for “the charms of storied and poetical association ... the masterpieces of art, the refinements of highly-cultivated society, the quaint peculiarities of ancient and local custom” (p. 50). In his stories set in Sleepy Hollow and in his use of the Dutch colonial history of New York, Irving works to construct a comparable set of “storied and poetical associations” for America.
3
(p. 50) for I had read
in
the works of various philosophers, that
all animals
degenerated in
America, and
man
among
the number: Irving alludes to a theory propounded by a number of British and European scholars, most notably the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte du Buffon (1707-1788). Buffon’s account of the “degenerate” form of plant and animal specimens taken from the North American continent was refuted by Thomas Jefferson in Notes on the State of Virginia (1785).
(p. 50) for I had read
in
the works of various philosophers, that
all animals
degenerated in
America, and
man
among
the number: Irving alludes to a theory propounded by a number of British and European scholars, most notably the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte du Buffon (1707-1788). Buffon’s account of the “degenerate” form of plant and animal specimens taken from the North American continent was refuted by Thomas Jefferson in Notes on the State of Virginia (1785).
4
(p. 51) humble lovers of the picturesque: The picturesque was a well-defined school of aesthetics that was part of the romantic reaction against neoclassical formalism. Its principles were outlined and promoted by English writer William Gilpin (1724-1804), English landscape designer Sir Uvedale Price (1747-1829), and English classical scholar Sir Richard Payne Knight (1750-1824), among others. Irving was close friends with a number of painters associated with the picturesque movement, including Washington Allston (1779-1843), Gilbert Stuart Newton (1794-1835), and C. R. Leslie (1794-1859); Leslie is featured in Irving’s sketch “The Wife” (although it is Allston upon whom the details of the story are based).
(p. 51) humble lovers of the picturesque: The picturesque was a well-defined school of aesthetics that was part of the romantic reaction against neoclassical formalism. Its principles were outlined and promoted by English writer William Gilpin (1724-1804), English landscape designer Sir Uvedale Price (1747-1829), and English classical scholar Sir Richard Payne Knight (1750-1824), among others. Irving was close friends with a number of painters associated with the picturesque movement, including Washington Allston (1779-1843), Gilbert Stuart Newton (1794-1835), and C. R. Leslie (1794-1859); Leslie is featured in Irving’s sketch “The Wife” (although it is Allston upon whom the details of the story are based).
5
(p. 52) The
Voyage:
Crossing the Atlantic from Europe to America often symbolized the erasure of one’s ties to the “Old World” in exchange for the opportunity to recreate oneself in the New. In “The Voyage,” Irving reverses this process and renders it ironic. He realizes that the Atlantic “interposes a gulf, not merely imaginary, but real, between us and our homes” (p. 53). At the same time, despite the fact that he is traveling back to the home of his forefathers, on his arrival he feels himself to be “a stranger in the land” (p. 57). Irving’s presentation of Geoffrey Crayon as enduring a self-imposed exile anticipates a tradition in American literature of characters who define their individuality in terms of the loss, or the absence, of cultural belonging (see the Introduction, p. xxv).
(p. 52) The
Voyage:
Crossing the Atlantic from Europe to America often symbolized the erasure of one’s ties to the “Old World” in exchange for the opportunity to recreate oneself in the New. In “The Voyage,” Irving reverses this process and renders it ironic. He realizes that the Atlantic “interposes a gulf, not merely imaginary, but real, between us and our homes” (p. 53). At the same time, despite the fact that he is traveling back to the home of his forefathers, on his arrival he feels himself to be “a stranger in the land” (p. 57). Irving’s presentation of Geoffrey Crayon as enduring a self-imposed exile anticipates a tradition in American literature of characters who define their individuality in terms of the loss, or the absence, of cultural belonging (see the Introduction, p. xxv).
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