a home. Accordingly he purchased a little farm at a lovely spot on the Hudson, not far from the Sleepy Hollow he had immortalized. The house was remodelled, and the grounds arranged in exquisite taste. To this charming residence he gave the name of Sunnyside. He received under his roof a number of near relatives, including a half dozen nieces, for whom he showed an affection as tender as it was admirable. Henceforth Sunnyside became to him the dearest spot on earth; he always left it with reluctance, and returned to it with eagerness. It was here that the greater part of his life was spent after his return to America. Few persons have been happier in their surroundings.

He was

But more

But

The ten years succeeding his return to America were, upon the whole, delightful to him. He had seen enough of the world to relish the quiet of his picturesque home. honored as the leading American writer of his day. than that, he was esteemed for his excellence of character. It is hardly too much to say that he was the most prominent private citizen of the republic. Almost any political position to which he might have aspired was within his reach. a public career was not to his taste. a candidate for mayor of New York no great struggle. But a seat in Mr. Van Buren's cabinet as Secretary of the Navy was likewise declined. The life of a government officer in Washington possessed no attractions for him, and his sensitive nature shrank from the personal attacks to which prominent officials are exposed.

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He declined to be which cost perhaps

During the ten years under consideration, he was busy with his pen. He became a regular contributor to the Knickerbocker Magazine at a salary of two thousand dollars a year. In addition to the "Tour on the Prairies" already mentioned, he wrote 'Abbotsford" and "Newstead Abbey" admirable sketches of the homes of Scott and Byron. "Captain Bonneville" is a story of adventure in the far West. It describes in a very vivid way the wild, daring, reckless life of the hunter, trapper, and explorer. Among the literary schemes

of this period must be mentioned his contemplated history of the conquest of Mexico. It was a theme well suited to his talents, and his previous work on Spanish subjects fitted him for the task. He had collected a large amount of material, and composed the first chapter; but learning that Mr. Prescott desired to treat the subject, Irving magnanimously abandoned it. It was a great personal sacrifice. "I was dismounted from my cheval de bataille," he wrote years afterwards, “and have never been completely mounted since." In spite of Mr. Prescott's splendid work, we cannot help regretting that Irving gave up his cherished theme.

In 1842 the quiet but busy literary life of Irving was interrupted by his appointment as minister to Spain. The nomination was suggested by Webster. In the Senate, Clay, who was opposing nearly all of the President's appointments, exclaimed, “Ah, this is a nomination that everybody will concur in!" The appointment was confirmed almost by acclamation. The appointment was a surprise to Irving; and, while he could not be insensible to the honor, its acceptance cost him pain. It necessitated a protracted absence from his beloved Sunny"It is hard, very hard," he was heard murmuring to himself; "yet I must try to bear it."

side.

There is not space to follow him in his diplomatic career. It was a turbulent period in Spain; but he discharged the somewhat difficult duties of his post, not only with fidelity, but also with ability. But the splendors of court life had lost their charm for him. From the pomp of the Spanish capital his heart fondly turned to his home on the Hudson. "I long to be once more back at dear little Sunnyside," he wrote in 1845, “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 about me.” He gave up his mission in 1846.

The year of his return to America he published his “Life. of Goldsmith," which is one of the most charming biographies ever written. There was not a little in common between

Irving and Goldsmith. They had alike a tender and indulgent regard for the world; they had felt the same roving disposition; they possessed a similar mastery of exquisite English. "Perhaps it is significant of a deeper unity in character," to borrow a delightful touch from Charles Dudley Warner, "that both, at times, fancied they could please an intolerant world by attempting to play the flute." Irving's treatment of Goldsmith is exquisitely sympathetic. "Mahomet and his Successors" appeared in 1849, and is a popular rather than a profound treatise. Irving's greatest work in the department of history was his "Life of Washington." The last volume was published in 1859, shortly before his death. It was the work of his ripe old age, and is a masterpiece of biography. It is clear in its arrangement, admirable in its proportion, impartial in its judgments, and finished in its style.

He

He was

The closing years of his life were serene and happy. held a high place in the affection of his countrymen. surrounded by the quiet domestic joys that he loved so well. His labors on the life of the great hero whose name he had received three quarters of a century before were thoroughly congenial. Thus he lived on, retaining his kindly feeling for the world, till the death summons suddenly came, Nov. 28, 1859. Although he had reached an age beyond the usual period allotted to man, the tidings of his death were received throughout the country with profound sorrow. But grief was deepest among those who had known him most intimately. His unpretending neighbors and the little children wept around his grave.

What Irving was, has been indicated in some measure in the course of this sketch. He had a large, generous nature, the kindliness of which is everywhere apparent. Through his wide reading and extensive travels, he acquired a culture of great breadth. He was at home with the explorer on the prairie, or with the sovereign in his court. The gentle elements predominated in his character; he was not inclined to make war upon mankind, and with savage zeal to denounce

their wickedness and shams. He was an observer of humanity rather than a reformer; and he reported what he saw with all the grace of a rich imagination and delicate humor. He was always loyal to truth and right. But in dealing with human frailty, his severest weapon was kindly satire. He evoked a smile at the foibles and eccentricities of men. His heart was of womanly tenderness; and for the sorrows and misfortunes of men he had tears of sympathy. The death of such a man is a loss, not only to literature, but, what is much more, to humanity itself.

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER.

COOPER deserves the honor of being the most national of our writers. He was less influenced by foreign models and foreign subjects than any of his great contemporaries. The works upon which his fame chiefly rests are thoroughly American. He was the first fully to grasp and treat the stores of materials to be found in the natural scenery, early history, and pioneer life of this Republic. He was at home alike on land and sea; and in his narrations he spoke from the fulness of his own observation and experience, and gave us pictures of those early days which will grow in interest as they are removed farther from us by the lapse of time. He opened a new vein of thought. It was largely owing to this freshness of subject and treatment that his works attained an extraordinary popularity, not alone in this country, but also in Europe. They came as a revelation to the Old World, which had grown tired of well-worn themes. They were eagerly seized upon, and translated into nearly every European tongue, and even into some of the languages of the Orient. No other American writer has been so extensively read.

James Fenimore Cooper was born at Burlington, N. J., Sept. 15, 1789, the eleventh of twelve children. His father was of Quaker and his mother of Swedish descent. When he was thirteen months old, the family moved to Cooperstown, on the southeastern shore of Otsego Lake, in the central part of New York. In this picturesque region, diversified with mountains, lakes, and woods, the childhood of Cooper was passed. It was at that time on the borders of civilization, and the little village presented a striking mixture of nationalities and occupations. Along with German, French, and Irish adventurers