Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irvingwas an American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle"and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of George Washington, Oliver Goldsmith and Muhammad, and several histories of 15th-century Spain dealing with subjects such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors and the Alhambra. Irving served as...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth3 April 1783
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.
There is a healthful hardiness about real dignity that never dreads contact and communion with others however humble.
He is the true enchanter, whose spell operates, not upon the senses, but upon the imagination and the heart.
They who drink beer will think beer.
A barking dog is often more useful than a sleeping lion.
The only happy author in this world is he who is below the care of reputation.
Others may write from the head, but he writes from the heart, and the heart will always understand him.
There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind.
Some minds seem almost to create themselves, springing up under every disadvantage and working their solitary but irresistible way through a thousand obstacles.
The tie which links mother and child is of such pure and immaculate strength as to be never violated.
Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the poet to become tender and imaginitive in the loneliness of confinement. He banquets upon the honey of his own thoughts, and, like the captive bird, pours forth his soul in melody.
It was the policy of the good old gentleman to make his children feel that home was the happiest place in the world; and I value this delicious home-feeling as one of the choicest gifts a parent can bestow.
I value this delicious home-feeling as one of the choicest gifts a parent can bestow.
I consider a story merely as a frame on which to stretch my materials.