Page 32 - Four Famous American Writers: Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, James Russell Lowell, Bayard Taylor

pristine glories. Every rent and chasm of time; every moldering tint and
weather-stain is gone; the marble resumes its original whiteness; the long

colonnades brighten in the moonbeams; the halls are illuminated with a
softened radiance--we tread the enchanted palace of an Arabian tale!"

When one may journey with such a companion, through a whole volume of
enchantment and legend and moonlight, it is not strange that "The

Alhambra" has been one of the most widely read books ever produced by
an American writer.

CHAPTER XIV

THE LAST YEARS OF IRVING’S LIFE

Some people have thought that Irving’s long residence abroad indicated that
he did not care so much as he should for his native land. But the truth is, the

years after his return to the United States were among the happiest of his
life; and more and more he felt that here was his home.

In 1835 he purchased, as I have already said, a small piece of land on the
Hudson, on which stood the Van Tassel house mentioned in the "Legend of

Sleepy Hollow." It was an old Dutch cottage which had stood for so many
years that it needed to be almost entirely rebuilt; and Irving spent a
considerable sum of money to fit it up as his bachelor quarters. First he

shared it with one of his bachelor brothers; but soon he invited his brother
Ebenezer to come with his family of girls to occupy it with him.

As the years went on, Irving took a delight in this cottage that can hardly be
expressed. At first he called it "Wolfert’s Roost"; afterward the name was

changed to "Sunnyside," the name by which it is still known. Little by little
he bought more land, he planted trees, and cultivated flowers and

vegetables. At one time he boasts that he has become so proficient in
gardening that he can raise his own fruits and vegetables at a cost to him of
little more than twice the market price.