Washington Irving, página 3 de 24

At Sunnyside, Irving wrote his " Life of Oliver Goldsmith." Putnam, the bookseller, had said to him one day : "Here is Fosters Life of Goldsmith ; I think of republishing it.""I once wrote a Memoir of Goldsmith," answered Irving, " which was prexed to an edition of his works printed at Paris ; and I have thought of enlarging it and making it more perfect."" If you will do that," was the reply of the bookseller, "I shall not republish the Life by Foster." Within three months afterward, Irvings " Life of Goldsmith" was nished and in press. It was so much superior to the original sketch, in the exactness of the particulars, the entertainment of the anecdotes, and the beauty of the style, that it was really a new work. There is no biographical memoir which carries forward the reader so delightfully and with so little tediousness of recital or reection. The reader is always being tempted to wish that Irving had written more works of the kind; but this could hardly be ; for Where could he have found another Goldsmith ?

These are the notebooks of Washington Irving, containing the jottings made by Irving during his travels in Europe between 1815 and 1830. These journals have been kept in the Irving family until within the last few years of the 19th century. The number of people who think they could write is larger than most of us suspect; it is pleasantly larger than the number who think they can write. There is not one of the former but will be eager to read Irvings notebooks. For they are the genuine backstage of literature. They are real notebooks: they are not journals, written with an eye on the public, as are most of the notebooks that push into print. They are not a collection of Irvings profound thoughts. Neither are they commentaries; Waterloo was but just over, but you will find in these pages few choice bits of gossip concerning the men and affairs of that momentous period. Obeying the strange impulse which seems to be common to all of us, big and little, Irving did set down each day the state of the weather and if he slept well. But this is about as far as the journalizing goes: the rest is observations, character sketches, scraps of sentences, skeleton plotsthese three volumes should help to dispel the notion that writers "make up" their books; only the poor writers invent anything, for they write for the sake of writing; fellows like Irving write for the sake of life, straining to catch and fix some of its overwhelming stream of pictures and passions.

The poverty of our literature in reference to Mahomet and Mahometanism is so conspicuous and so inconvenient that we may well receive with gratitude the authors very able endeavour to relieve it. With freedom from prejudice and independence of judgment, he combines an extensive and intimate knowledge of the most authentic sources of information, and, after several years of labour, has produced this volume in the hope of contributing to the complete elucidation and final settlement of Mahomets real character and claims. After a careful examination of them, and after comparing them with those of sundry of his predecessors and contemporaries, it appears to us that the author has abundant reason to be gratified with the success he has achieved. Most conscientiously prepared, and based on authorities whom the Moslems themselves appeal to as decisive, his work may be used with equal confidence both by the historian and the controversialist. We heartily commend it to every one who, on so important a subject, desires to have what, on the whole, is probably the best and most complete book in any language, and shall avail. ourselves of it and of other sources of information, in this paper, to present a few of the leading events of the Prophets life, with a view to a brief illustration of his character and of the means and meaning of his success.

In 1830 Irving published his " Chronicles of the Conquest of Granada," one of the most delightful of his works, an exact history, for such it is admitted to be by thosewho have searched most carefully the ancient records of Spain, yet so full of personal incident, so diversied with surprising turns of fortune, and these wrought up with such picturesque effect, that, to use an expression of Pope, a young lady might read it by mistake for a romance.

"The Life Of George Washington" is a monumental work on the life of one of the most famous American presidents. Originally published in five volumes between 1853 and 1859, it is a treasure chest of information on Washington and the Civil War. This work is presumeably the most intimate and fascinating biography of a man who worked his way from an Army commander to the first President of the United States. This is volume three out of five.

In The Sketch-Book Washington Irving explores the uneasy relationship of an American writer to English literary traditions. He sketches a series of encounters with the cultural shrines of the parent nation, and in two brilliant experiments with tales transplanted from Europe creates the first classic American short stories, `Rip Van Winkle' and `The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow'.

Versión del inglés, prólogo y notas por el ingeniero Luis Báez Díaz

ROUGH draughts of some of the following tales and essays were actually written during a residence in the Alhambra; others were subsequently added, founded on notes and observations made there. Care was taken to maintain local coloring and verisimilitude; so that the whole might present a faithful and living picture of that microcosm, that singular little world into which I had been fortuitously thrown; and about which the external world had a very imperfect idea. It was my endeavor scrupulously to depict its half Spanish, half Oriental character; its mixture of the heroic, the poetic, and the grotesque; to revive the traces of grace and beauty fast fading from its walls; to record the regal and chivalrous traditions concerning those who once trod its courts; and the whimsical and superstitious legends of the motley race now burrowing among its ruins.

"I have no wife nor children, good or bad, to provide for. A mere spectator of other mens fortunes and adventures, and how they play their parts; which, methinks, are diversely presented unto me, as

El pueblo de Sleepy Hollow estaba bajo un hechizo adormecedor; la gente que vivía ahí caminaba soñolienta y era propensa a tener visiones y sueños extraños. Por todo el pueblo existían lugares encantados y supersticiones. Entre todas estas fantasias, habia un espectro que sobresalia de todos los demas. Un soldado que por las noches cabalgaba velozmente, asustando a los lugareños con solo el galopar de su caballo. Iba de un lugar a otro buscando algo importante: su cabeza. Irving Washington, escritor estadounidense del siglo XIX, narra esta y otras historias marcadas por la satira social, utilizando para ello los ingeniosos recursos del terror.

Tras su llegada a España Washington Irving inicia un recorrido por tierras andaluzas. Durante su visita a Granada queda extasiado por la majestuosidad de la Alhambra en cuyas habitaciones tiene la fortuna de alojarse. Alli conoce a varios personajes que le acompañaran durante su estancia en tierras granadinas. De las conversaciones con estos y de las historias que escucha a su fiel criado y guia Mateo Jimenez transcribira leyendas y tradiciones transmitidas de padres a hijos durante generaciones. De esta forma con sus Cuentos de la Alhambra Washington Irving escribio una rica y detallada cronica de la España de la primera mitad del siglo XIX y sobre todo supo transmitir la magia y el misterio de toda una epoca. Porque algunas de las narraciones que componen el cuerpo central de la obra -la del astrologo arabe que contribuyo con su magia a derrotar a los ejercitos enemigos; la de las tres hermosas princesas encerradas en una torre para que no se enamoraran; la del peregrino del amor tambien encerrado en una torre por su celoso padre; la del legado del moro que nos habla de un fabuloso tesoro encontrado por un aguador; la de la Rosa de la Alhambra en que se nos muestra un laud maravilloso capaz de curar la melancolia del rey- bien podrian provenir de Las mil y una noches.

La historia toma lugar en 1784, en los alrededores del asentamiento holandés de Tarry Town (Nueva York), en un apartado valle llamado Sleepy Hollow. El lugar es conocido por sus fantasmas y el ambiente embrujado que impregna la imaginacion de sus habitantes y visitantes. El espectro mas infame del lugar es el Jinete sin Cabeza, de quien se dice que es el fantasma de un antiguo soldado que fue alcanzado en la cabeza por una bala de cañon durante "