he went to Madrid, where he wrote his "Life of Columbus," the English edition of which brought him three thousand guineas. His "Conquest of Granada" and "Alhambra" followed. In July, 1829, having been appointed secretary of legation, at London, he left Spain for England. In 1831 he received from the University of Oxford the degree of Doctor of Laws. After an absence of seventeen years he returned to America, in May, 1832. His arrival was commemorated by a public dinner in New York city, at which Chancellor Kent presided. A few months later he made a journey west of the Mississippi, which he described in his "Tour of the Prairies." In 1836 he published " Astoria, " and subsequently the "Adventures of Captain Bonneville." From 1839, for two years, he contributed a series of papers to the Knickerbocker Magazine. A number of these papers, together with others, were published in 1855, in a volume which received the title, "Wolfert's Roost."
In 1842 Irving was appointed minister to Spain, an office which he retained for the next four years. He then returned home, and for the rest of his life resided at his cottage residence, " Sunnyside, " near Tarrytown, the spot which he had described years before, in the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow," as the castle of the Herr Van Tassel, and of which he wrote: " If ever I should wish for a retreat whither I might steal from the world and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remainder of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this little valley." Here in this retreat he lived in the midst of a family circle composed of his brother and his nieces, hospitably entertaining his friends, and engaged in writing his biographies of Goldsmith and Mahomet and his "Life of Washington."
His life at "Sunnyside" was simple, kindly and affectionate. He was a good friend and neighbor, and a devout communicant of Christ Episcopal church in Tarrytown. For many years he was a vestryman and warden, and it was his practice during the greater part of this time to take up the collection at the Sunday services. He never married, having lost by death his betrothed wife, Matilda Hoffman, a beautiful young girl. His death occurred at Tarrytown, November 28, 1859, and he was buried in the beautiful cemetery of Sleepy Hollow. The ivy upon the tower of Christ church was taken from "Sunnyside" and planted by Irving himself. It was originally brought from Melrose Abbey. His pew in the church is marked with his name and was set apart years ago by the vestry for the use of any of the members of the Irving family who might wish to worship there. As near the pew as it could be placed is a natural tablet ejected by the vestry to his memory. In the center is the Irving coat of arms, and on the stone the following inscription:
Washington Irving,
Born in the City of New York, April 3, 1783.
For many years a communicant and warden of this church.
And
Repeatedly one of its delegates to the Convention
Of the Diocese.
Loved, Honored, Revered.
He fell asleep in Jesus
November 28th, 1859.
Irving died at "Sunnyside," having just taken leave of the family circle. Three days later he was buried in the old Dutch church cemetery, where he had some time before selected the spot for his grave, and where the remains of the brothers and sisters who had died before him were buried. An account of the funeral says: " It was a remarkable assemblage from the city, of men of worth and eminence, the friends of his youth and middle life, and universally of the population of the town and adjacent country, where he was beloved by all. The area of Christ church, Tarrytown, where the funeral services of the Episcopal church, of which he had been a member, were performed, was much too limited to contain the numbers which thronged to the simple ceremony. The neighboring hillside was covered, and the road to the cemetery lined with spectators, villagers and others, clad in their Sunday attire. The shops of Tarrytown were all closed. Thus was borne to the grave with simple but heartfelt honors all that was mortal of Washington Irving. Eulogies, resolutions and addresses from civic, religious, literary and other societies followed his death. The city government of New York, the Athenaeum Club, the New York Historical Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society, heaped these honors on his tomb, while personal tributes in sermons, editorial articles and various reminiscences were called forth in great number."
" By his will," says the same account, " which made ample provisions to continue the home at ' Sunnyside' to the brother and nieces by whom Mr. Irving had been surrounded, he left his manuscripts to his nephew, Pierre M. Irving, who had been his assistant in some of his more important labors of research, as his literary executor." Mr. Irving afterward published a memoir of his distinguished uncle. Mr. George P. Putnam, the New York publisher, issued a uniform edition of Washington Irving's works, in 1847, which yielded Mr. Irving and his representatives more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
On the 3rd of April, 1883, the centennial anniversary of Irving's birth was commemorated at Tarrytown by "The Washington Irving Association," which had been formed on the 19th of March for the purpose of appropriately observing the anniversary. The exercises took place on the evening of April 3rd, at the Second Reformed church. Judge Noah Davis presided, and from New York, Brooklyn and many adjacent points came many to swell the assemblage. The church was beautifully decorated with flowers and evergreens. As a prelude to the addresses. Miss Hawes played the overture from the opera of "Rip Van Winkle," on the organ. Addresses were delivered by Judge Davis, Mr. James Wood (president of the Westchester Historical Society), Rev. James Selden Spencer, Donald G. Mitchell, Charles Dudley Warner and Professor William C. Wilkinson. A poem by Mr. Stephen H. Thayer, of Tarrytown, was read by Rev. Washington Choate. Letters of regret from a number of invited guests were also read, among them being responses from Governor Cleveland, John G. Whittier, George William Curtis, John Jay, and President Porter of Yale. Miss Sears sang "The Lost Chord," and Professor T. S. Doolittle, D. D., pronounced the benediction. At the request of the committee of arrangements the Misses Irving opened " Sunnyside " to the public, and for several days persons from all parts of the country availed themselves of the opportunity to visit "Wolfert's Roost, " which remained as it was at Mr. Irving's death. A memorial volume, containing an account of the commemoration, with the addresses and poem, was afterward published by the Irving Association. It is embellished by fine steel portraits of Irving and Matilda Hoffman and by views of appropriate order.
PAINE, THOMAS.
Thomas Paine, the noted political and philosophical writer, is identified with Westchester county by the fact that for his Revolutionary services the state of New York granted him five hundred acres of land in New Rochelle, where he resided part of the time after his return to the United States, in 1802. Paine was a native of Thetford, Norfolk, England, born January 29, 1737, and died in New York city, June 8, 1809. His parentage was humble and his educational opportunities limited. For a 'time he preached occasionally as a dissenting minister, and in, 1774, at the suggestion of Franklin, came to America. He soon became known as a writer of uncommon force and logic and an opponent of slavery. His celebrated pamphlet, "Common Sense," in which he advocated the independence of the colonies, was published in January, 1776, and had an extraordinary influence in disseminating republican ideas. His subsequent publications were of inestimable benefit to the patriotic cause. He was outlawed in England, for his celebrated "Rights of Man," which appeared in 1771, in answer to Burke's " Reflections on the French Revolution," and in September, 1792, was elected a member of the French National Convention. In consequence of his outspoken opposition to the execution of Louis XVI, he narrowly escaped being put to death during the Reign of Terror. His remains were taken to England in 1819 by William Cobbett. A monument was erected to his memory in 1839, near his original burial-place in New Rochelle. By reason of his philosophical writings, which were interpreted as grossly "infidel," Paine's memory has been greatly maligned in the past, but it is gratifying
