title: Six selections from Irving's Sketch-book.
text: ^\J'\J'<J^'\J\ TOCMWmK :«SV™V*j, .-y v;' *^ ♦ ; ,, - '.-' \ /■ ;, J, i, i! , l: (I /I Vl 7- .' - ^ ■ -.•. ^^^u^Uuu'^vwyuuuvu' ^^yw^^vv^ LsOllAP^^ OF COf^GRESS. ? dl •S^ '^ « W Nsf ^ ^ 1 ? ' ; . V .;.,/,- • ,: ^^^:jy^^^:^^\^^ vW^tRnk^^S /JUW\^V^'^^ vuVWU^7i^WWW> 'wwy^r- ..a^doywBjy'ui- 'vp'iati^ VvvU^- ftgi^^^Sffi^S ^;^^^^^^ww^^^^^^> .^wW^' :^.w,^,&i^'.^,I^M^.W /J >' w lt:.':V V W ^' '\J ., .'V iiiliii^^^^es^s^; ^W'«i^/', I '<.'". :-'!■ ■ywww.^ :j! A ,.^,,- ■^lii^i. SIX SELECTIONS IRVING'S SKETCH-BOOK. SIX SELECTIONS FROM lEVING'S SKETCH-BOO CONSISTING OP SKETCHES FROM THE LIST MADE BY THE SUPERVISORS FOR THE BOSTON HIGH SCHOOLS. A NOTICE OF IRVING'S LIFE AND TIMES, NOTES, QUESTIONS, ETC. ^ot Jiome and <^chool fee. HOMER B. SPRAGUE, Ph.D., HEAD MASTER OF THE GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL, BOSTON, MASS., AND FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE CORNELL UNIVERSITY. ASSISTED BY M. E. SCATES, FOE MANY YEAKS INSTEUCTOE IN ENGLISH IN THE GIKM' HIGH SCHOOL, BOSTON. BOSTON: G-INN AND HEATH, PUBLISHERS, 1878. t^ Copyright, 1878. By homer B. SPRAGUE. ELECTEOTTPED AND FEINTED AT THE UiMVEKSITT PEESS, CAMBEIDGE. PREFACE The compilers of this book, desiring to give practical help to teachers and pupils in beginning the study of English Literature, feel warranted by long experience in the school- room in offering certain suggestions. The writer studied should become a friend, a companion ; " for indeed there is something of companionship between the author and the reader." The main facts of his life should be given ; but the students should collect additional ones, and by means of them and of familiar talks by their teacher, there should be presented simply, but vividly, the man and the author. The general. intent and the particular meaning of the writer in the extracts studied should be made very clear : pupils should be encouraged to make criticisms, and to ask questions; they should be made to reproduce passages in fresh words, and to write out the story or tell it orally as briefly as pos- sible. Words ought to be defined, sentences analyzed, obscure expressions simplified, and numerous questions asked to lead pupils to use the knowledge they already possess, and to search for other items that will make interesting the pieces selected for study. Reading aloud will, of course, form a part of many exer- cises, and it is a most valuable test of a scholar's comprehen- iv PREFACE. sion of any selection. The recitation of the finest passages will afford a pleasant variety in the work. Too much is often expected of young students, and often too little may seem to be accomplished; but the habits formed will be of practical value in most other studies in school or college. To get the general meaning, to under- stand in detail, and to be able to present clearly to another mind what we have mastered, are always important as a discipline, and constitute a sure test of success. To the liberal and enterprising publishing house (G. P. Putnam's Sons) whose name has been most honorably con- nected with the publication of Irving's works during the past thirty years, warm thanks are due for the courtesy with which they have accorded the privilege of issuing in the present form these six delightful Sketches. Boston, September 1, 1878. CHEONOLOGY. 1783. April 3, Washington Irving was bom in the city of New York. 1800. Began to study law. 1802. Contributions to The Morning Chronicle, signed Jonathan Old- style. 1804. Went to Eurojje. 1806. Returned to New York ; was admitted to the bar. 1807. Salmagundi, a humorous magazine ; joint production of Wash- ington Irving, James K. Paulding, and William Irving. 1809. Matilda Hoffman, his betrothed, died. Her early death gave a tinge of seriousness to his whole life. 1809. History of New York, by Diedrich Knickcrhockcr. Sir Walter Scott was greatly delighted with this work. 1810. Admitted as a partner with two of his brothers in the commer- cial business which they carried on in New York and Liverpool. 1813-14. Edited Analectic Magazine, published in Philadelphia. 1815. Second visit to Europe. 1817. Thomas Campbell, the poet, gave Irving a letter of introduc- tion to Scott at Abbotsford, who said of Irving, " He is one of the best and pleasantest acquaintances I have made this man}^ a day. " 1818. Failure in business. Bankruptcy. 1819-20. The Sketch-Book was published in numbers in New York ; collected and published in two volumes in London by John Murray, owing to the favorable representations of Walter'Scott. 1822. Bracchridge Hall. The characters in the Christmas Sketches reappear in this book. Thomas Moore, the poet, suggested the idea to Irving. 1824. Tales of a Traveller; sold for 1500 guineas to Murray, without his having seen the manuscript. 1828. TM Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. While writing this book in Madrid, he met Mr. Longfellow, who had just been ap- pointed professor of modern languages in Bowdoin College, and was studying in Europe to prepare himself for the work. viii CHRONOLOGY. 1829. Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada. 1830. The Royal Society of Literature bestowed upon him one of the two fifty-guinea gold medals, awarded annually. 1831. The University of Oxford conferred on him the degree of LL. D. 1831. Voyages of the Companions of Columbus. 1832. Eeturned to New York after seventeen years' absence. Public dinner in New York to "our illustrious guest, thrice welcome to his native land." 1832. TJie Alhambra. Irving lived in the old Moorish palace between two and three months "in a kind of Oriental dream," he says. Many of his letters written at the time are dated, "Alhambra, Granada." 1834. Travelled in the "West, in company with commissioners ap- pointed by the United States Government to treat with the Indians. 1835. A Tour on the Prairies. Abhotsford and Neiostead Abbey {Crayon Miscellany). 1835. Legends of the Conquest of Spain {Crayon Miscellany), . Included in Spanish Papers, edited by Pierre M. Irving, after the author's death. 1835. Purchased a tract of land on the Hudson, on which was a small Dutch cottage, the Van Tassel house of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, afterwards known as "Wolfert's Roost, and rechristened Sunnyside. The railroad station near it is now called IrVington, some twenty-five miles from New York. 1836. Astoria : an account of John Jacob Astor's settlement on the Columbia River, scenes beyond the Rocky Mountains, the-fur trade, etc. 1837. The Adventures of Captain Bonneville. ■ 1842 - 46. Minister to Spain. Notified of his appointment by Daniel "Webster. 1849. Oliver Goldsmith: A Biography. 1850. Mahomet and his Successors. 1855. Wolfert's Boost. 1855 - 59. The Life of George JVashingfton (five volimies). 1859. November 28, Irving died at Sunnyside. IRVING ONE OF THE CHIEF FOUNDERS OF AMERICAN LITERATURE. On the 19th of April, 1783, just eight years after the battle of Lex- ington, the commanding general of the American forces sent the joyful news of peace to his long-suffering army. On the third day of the same month, in the city of New York, the youngest of the eleven children of William and Sarah Irving was born. To the child was given the Chris- tian name of Washington. Before the time of Irving's first literary efforts the scholarly men of America, that is of the American colonies, were too busy with hard labor in subduing nature, resisting the rigorous acts of the English Parliament, and laying the foundations and rearing the walls of the new temple of liberty, to devote themselves in any special degree to literary culture. Born with the new Republic, and through the whole of his life an ardent lover of his country, it seems no stretch of the imagination to conceive that Irving was inspired from the beginning with the high resolve to add something to its glory, as well as to make for himself a name of renown. The following brief outline will show that Irving, whom Thackeray styles "the first ambassador sent by the New World of Letters to the Old," preceded the authors whose works make it possible to use with certainty and pride the words, "American Literature" : William CuUen Bryant's Thanatopsis was published in the North American Review in 1816 ; but in 1831 he was unknown in England, and solicited Irving to use his influence to have a volume of his poems published in London. Eichard Henry Dana was four years younger than Irving. He was the editor of the North American Review; his most celebrated poem. The Buccaneer, was published in 1827. James Fenimore Cooper was six years younger than Irving, and his first novels appeared in 1821. Long- fellow and Hawthorne were in college when Irving was famous. Whit- tier's best poems have been written since Irving's death. Ralph Waldo Emerson was born the year after Irving began to write for Tlie Morning Chronicle ; Nathaniel Hawthorne, a year later ; Oliver Wendell Holmes, the year of the publication of Irving's History of New York ; and James Russell Lowell, the year The Sketeh-Book was published. SOME QUESTIONS AND TOPICS SUITABLE FOR A FINAL EXAMINATION PAPER. When and where was Irving born ? Fix the date by an important historical event. Give some account of his life in Europe. What marked honors did he receive in England ? When was his fame as an author well-established, both at home and abroad ? What distinguished British authors were his friends ? Name his chief works. Who suggested the idea of Bracebridge Hall ? What books of his are truly American in subject? Did Irving ever do any work besides book-making ? What distinguished American statesmen in his time ? Give the chief events in American history during the period of Irving's life ; in English and French history. Under what fictitious names did he write ? What was the name of his home ? where was it ? Is there any appropriateness in the name, Geoffrey Crayon, as author of The Sketch-Book? Explain. What idea of Irving as a man would be derived from reading his works ? What does the phrase " contemporary writers " mean ? Into what classes may we divide the sketches ? Descriptive ? humorous ? pathetic ? narrative ? didactic ? other ? Where is the scene of each sketch laid ? iName the chief characters in the sketches, connecting with each some appropriate qualifying word or phrase. Which is your favorite sketch ? Why ? Write briefly an outline of the story of The Widow and Her Son. Sketch the character and personal appearance of Ichabod Crane. Quote from the sketches, and state what there is that is striking in the passages quoted. Name very humorous and very pathetic passages in the sketches. Select a passage of fine description. " He loved his daughter better even than his pipe." Quoted from what ? Is it humorous or matter of fact ? Why ? Define the following words : cloisters, vionastic, key-stones, effigies, obliterated, edifice, jjarsimony. What is a sentence ? Of what parts does every sentence consist ? Analyze the last sentence in TJie JVidotv and Her Son. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHEES. The following suggestions by the Board of School Supervisors ia Boston will be found exceedingly helpful to many teachers : — During the short time given to English Literature in the High Schools, few authors can be studied, and only selections from their works can be critically read. The main purpose, then, of this brief course of study should be to form and cultivate a taste for good literature, to encourage careful and systematic reading, and to illustrate the princi- ples which should guide in selecting authors and works to be read after leaving school. It should be the purpose of the teacher, while keeping the exercises in literature from becoming either mere tasks or pastimes, to make the lessons so interesting that they will be eagerly and vigor- ously studied, and will inspire a desire for a larger acquaintance with the best authors. This purpose, it is believed, can be accomplished, partly by leading the pupils to perceive the real intent of the author, his thoughts and feelings, the strength of his argument, the beauty and nobleness of his sentiment, and his clear, distinct, forcible, and happy expression ; partly by giving a vivid account of his life and times and their influence on each other, and by exciting an interest in the lives of his most eminent literary contemporaries. Thus, by association and com- parison, the study of a single author may be an introduction and an incentive to the study of the literature of his period. While neither the thought nor expression should be slighted at any time during the study of the selections, more attention should, perhaps, be given to the thought the first year, and to the expression the second year. During the third year, the selections should be used not merely for exercises in the meaning, derivation, and use of words, or for enlarg- ing the understanding or improving the taste ; they should also be studied as specimens of literature, and should illustrate the iiitellect, the taste, and the genius of their authors. "' *,=, At the outset, the whole of a poem, sketch, essay, or novel should be read by the pupils, either at home or at school. Having formed a gen- eral conception of the production, they should study carefully and read intelligently with their teacher those parts of it that are most inter- esting and instructive, and that represent the genius and style of the author. xii SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. To the foregoing may be added the followiiig, by the same judi- cious authorities : — After the teacher has called attention to a few points in the life, times, and character of an author, the class should take some narrative or clc- scriptive piece and read it aloud, special attention being given to reading it in such a manner as to express clearly the thought, with such modi- iications of the voice as the sentiment requires. This should be accom- panied by such a running commentary by the teacher as will enable the pupils to understand the story, if it is a narrative, or to form a mental picture of the scene described. The commentary should not, however, be such as to interfere with the interest of the story or description ; but simply what is necessary to a general understanding of the piece. It will often require an explanation of many words that are but vaguely understood by the pupils, and attention to such constructions as require elucidation. This having been done, it will be an excellent practice for the pupils to tell, orally, what they have read in their own language. This may be made a class exercise by having one pupil begin and others follow, each taking it up where his predecessor left off. Let each pupil then write an abstract of it. The reading of the piece and the oral abstract which has been given will have secured such a knowledge of it that the pupils will be likely to express themselves with a clearness which can come only from a full and exact understanding of the author. Having carefully read the narrative or description, some parts of it may be taken and subjected to such an analysis as will show the rela- tions of the clauses, phrases, and words to each other. It may be well, too, if the pupils are sufficiently advanced, to show somethmg of the relations of logic — the grammar of thought — to grammar, which has to do with words, phrases, and clauses. This will involve a knowledge of the parts of speech, the inflections, and the principles of syntax, — and should therefore be preceded by some review of what the pupils may be supposed to have learned pre- viously. After this the attention may be directed Tnore especially to subordinate matters, — to allusions, suggestions, manners, customs, historical refer- ences, and the like. If the selection is poetry, call attention to the metrical structure, which will involve the necessity, perhaps, of some study of prosody. The most common rhetorical figures may be learned, — as simile, metaphor, synecdoche, and metonymy, and the selection examined with reference to their use. Then, the words may be examined with reference to their orign. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. xiii derivation, and formation. This, of course, will necessitate the use of an etymological dictionary, and a knowledge of the common prefixes and suffixes. The pupils will then be able to understand what is meant by piority of style, and to apply their knowledge in examining this and other selec- tions. The habit, too, which the pupils have formed of seeing the exact meaning of words, and the force of particular constructions, will aid them in writing clearly. Then may follow an exercise involving all that has been done ; viz., an exercise in criticism, or an estimate of the merits and faults of the selection. If it is a narrative or a description, does it give us a distinct and con- sistent conception of the story told, or the object described, as a whole ? Or is there something wanting, or but vaguely hinted at, which is neces- sary to a perfect understanding of the author ? A careful examination in these regards will determine its quality with regard to cumphtencss. Is there more than is necessary to give such a conception, — some- thing not so intimately connected with the subject as to render the con- ception more vivid and well defined, but rather to confuse ? On the answer to this will depend its unify. Then may follow an examination of the style. Are the words such as are sanctioned by " good use " ? Are the words well chosen to express the exact ideas of the author ? Is the constructiom of the sentences in accordance with the idiom and syntax of the language ? This, of course, will involve some knowledge of barbarism, impropriety, and solecism. How much of the preceding should be done in the several classes will depend on the pupils' power of appreciation, and the time devoted to the study. Probably the Junior class will be glad to take another selection after having obtained such a knowledge of it as to be able to wTite a good abstract, to analyze some of the most difficult sentences, and give the grammatical inflexions and relation of some of the principal words, — with some, but not a wearisome, attention to allusions, historical sugges- tions, etc. The Middle class will be able, in addition to this, to subject the selec- tion to such an examination as will involve some knowledge of rhetoric. The Senior class may give some attention to each of the parts enumer- ated, with special attention to criticism. But such study will not give pupils facility and accuracy in composi- tion without much iwactice in writing. "We learn to skate by skating, and to write by writing. There is no other way. — Boston School Document No. 29, 1877. CONTENTS. — • — Page Chronology op Incidents and Publications . . . vii Irving one of the Chief Founders of American Lit- erature ix Questions for a Final Examination Paper . . x Suggestions to Teachers . . xi The Voyage 1 Questions and Suggestions 9 Westminster Abbey 11 Questions and Suggestions 27 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 28 Questions and Suggestions 69 The Widow and her Son 71 Questions and Suggestions 80 Eip Van Winkle 81 Questions and  I will descrie you Amidst the main, I M'ill come and try you, What you are protecting, And projectiug, What 's your eud and aim. One goes abroad for merchandise and trading. Another stays to keep his country from invading, A third is coming home with rich and wealthy lading. Halloo ! my fancie, whither wilt thou go ? " Old Poem. To an American visiting Europe, the long voyage he has to make is an excellent preparative. The temporary absence of worldly scenes and employments produces a state of mind peculiarly fitted to receive new and vivid impressions. The vast space of waters that separates the hemispheres is like a 5 blank page in existence. There is no gradual transition by which, as in Europe, the features and population of one country blend almost imperceptibly with those of another. From the moment you lose sight of the land you have left, all is vacancy until you step on the opposite shore, and are lo launched at once into the bustle and novelties of another world. In travelling by land there is a continuity of scene, and a connected succession of persons and incidents that carry on Line 1. Voyage (Pr. voyager, to travel ; voyage, a journey ; Lat. via, a way), formerly a passage, joTirney, or travel hy sea or by laud ; hence Irving says a wide sea voyage. It is now limited to travel by sea. 2. Preparative, that wliich prepares ; a prej)aration. 5. Hemispheres. What meridian is the boundai-y line between the east- ern and western hemisplieres ? See the atlases. 2 THE SKETCH-BOOK. the story of life, and lessen the effect of absence and separa- « tion. We drag, it is true, "a lengthening chain" at each remove of our pilgrimage ; but the chain is unbroken : we can trace it back link by link ; and we feel that the last still grapples us to home. But a wide sea voyage severs us at once. It makes us conscious of being cast loose from the 20 secure anchorage of settled life, and sent adrift upon a doubt- ful world. It interposes a gulf, not merely imaginary, but real, between us and our homes, — a gulf subject to tempest and fear and uncertainty, rendering distance palpable and re- turn precarious. 25 Such, at least, was the case with myself. As I saw the last blue line of my native land fade away like a cloud in the horizon, it seemed as if I had closed one volume of the world and its contents, and had time for meditation before I opened another. That land, too, now vanishing from my 30 view, which contained all most dear to me in life, — what vicissitudes might occur in it, what changes might take place in me, before I should visit it again ! Who can tell, when he sets forth to wander, whither he may be driven by the uncertain currents of existence, or when he may return, ss or whether it may ever be his lot to revisit the scenes of his childhood? I said that at sea all is vacancy ; I should correct the ex- pression. To one given to day-dreaming, and fond of losing 16. A lengthening chain, "And drags at each remove a lengtlienhig chain." Goldsmith's Traveller, line 10. This expression is explained in the following passage from Goldsmith's Citizen of tlie World : " The farther I travel, I feel the pain of separation with stronger force ; those ties that bind me to my native comitry and you, are still unbroken. By every move I only drag a greater length of chain." 28. Horizon (Gr. opos, hoi-os, a boundary), the circular line which bounds the view of the sky and earth, or of the sky and water, caused by the appar- ent meeting of the two. 32. Vicissitudes (Lat. vicis, a turn, a change ; vicissitudo, a succeeding in turns), revolutions, mutations. 34. Driven by the uncertain currents. Do currents drive one 1 Is ' drive ' the best word ? THE VOYAGE, 3 himself in reveries, a sea voyage is full of subjects for medi- « tation ; but then they are the wonders of the deep and of the air, and ratlier tend to abstract the mind from worldly themes. I delighted to loll over the quarter-railing, or climb to the main-top, of a calm day, and muse for hours together on the tranquil bosom of a summer's sea ; to gaze upon the « piles of golden clouds just peering above the horizon, fancy them some fairy realms, and people them with a creation of my own ; to watch the gentle undulating billows, rolling their silver volumes as if to die away on those happy shores. There was a delicious sensation of mingled security and awe w with which I looked down, from my giddy height, on the monsters of the deep at their uncouth gambols, — r shoals of porpoises tumbling about the bow of the ship ; the grampus slowly heaving his huge form above the surface ; or the rav- enous shark, darting, like a spectre, through the blue waters. ^ My imagination would conjure up all that I had heard or read of the watery world beneath me, — of the finny herds that roam its fathomless valleys, of the shapeless monsters that lurk among the very foundations of the earth, and of those wild phantasms that swell the talcs of fishermen and 6o sailors. 40. Beveries. " Wlien ideas float iu our minds without any reflection or regard of the understanding, it is that which the French call resveric (reverie) ; our language has scarce a name for it." Locke, (Fr. river, to dream.) 43. Quarter-railing. The railing reachjng from the taff"rail to the gang- way, and serving as a fence to the quarter-deck (the quarter-deck being that portion of the uppermost deck between the mainmast and mizzenmast, or be- tween the mainmast and the stern). 44. Main-top. The top of the mainmast of a ship. 52. Gambols. "The radical image is that of a sudden and rapid move- ment to and fro, jvimping, springing," for sport. Wedgwood. Shoals. The radical meaning seems to be a clump or mass. Wedgwood. (Dutch school, a shoal of fishes. ) 53. Porpoises (Lat. porcus, hog ; piscis, fish), hog-fishes. Grampus (Lat. grandis, large, and 2}iscis, fish ; or perhaps, crassus, fat, big, and piscis, fish). The grampus is sometimes 25 feet in length. 56. Conjure (kiin'jur), to summon by enchantment. Conjure' means to swear togetlier, to conspire by oath. 60. Phantasms (Gr. phantasma, appearance), apparitions. 4 THE SKETCH-BOOK. %. Sometimes a distant sail, gliding along the edge of the ocean, would be another theme of idle speculation. How interesting this fragment of a world, hastening to rejoin the great mass of existence ! What a glorious monument of human invention, es which has in a manner triumphed over wind and wave ; has brought the ends of the world into communion; has estab- lished an interchange of blessings, pouring into the sterile re- gions of the north all the luxuries of the south ; has diffused the light of knowledge and the charities of cultivated life ; and 70 has thus bound together those scattered portions of the human race, between which nature seemed to have tlirown an insur- mountable barrier. We one day descried some shapeless object drifting at a dis- tance. At sea, everything that breaks the monotony of the 75 surrounding expanse attracts attention. It proved to be the mast of a ship that must have been completely wrecked ; for there were the remains of handkerchiefs, by which some of the crew had fastened themselves to this spar, to prevent their being washed off by the waves. There was no trace by so which the name of the ship could be ascertained. The wreck had evidently drifted about for many months ; clusters of shell- fish had fastened about it, and long sea-weeds flaunted at its sides. But where, thought I, is the crew ? Their struggle has long been over, — they have gone down amidst the roar of 85 the tempest, — their bones lie whitening among the caverns of the deep. Silence, oblivion, like the waves, have closed over them, and no one can tell the story of their end. What 74. Descried ("To make an outcry on discovering something for which one is on the watch ; then simply to discover." Wedgwood), discerned at a distance. Notice tlie old spelling of this word and of fancy, in the stanza at the beginning of the sketch. 75. Monotony (Gr. /xivoy, single ; rdvo^, note, tone), sameness, want of variety. 76. Expanse (Lat. ex, out ; pansum, opened, spread), a surface widely outspread. 79. Spar. In naiitical phrase, a long beam, a mast, yard, boom. S3. Flaunted. To flaunt is properly to wave to and fro in the wind, to move about in a showy manner so as to be seen like a banner in the wind. THE VOYAGE. 5 sighs have been wafted after that ship ! what prayers offered up at the deserted fireside of home ! How often has the mis- ao tress, the wife, the mother, pored over the daily news, to catch some casual intelligence of this rover of the deep ! How has expectation darkened into anxiety, — anxiety into dread, — and dread into despair ! Alas ! not one memento may ever return for love to cherish. All that may ever be known is 95 that she sailed from her port, "and was never heard of more ! " The sight of this wreck, as usual, gave rise to many dismal anecdotes. This was particularly the case in the evening, when the weather, which had hitherto been fair, began to look wild and threatening, and gave indications of one of those sudden 100 storms which will sometimes break in upon the serenity of a summer voyage. As we sat round the dull light of a lamp in the cabin, that made the gloom more ghastly, every one had his tale of shipwreck and disaster. I was particularly struck with a short one related by the captain. io« "As I was once sailing," said he, "in a fine stout ship across the banks of JSTewfoundland, one of those heavy fogs which prevail in those parts rendered it impossible for us to see far ahead even in the daytime ; but at night the weather was so thick that we could not distinguish any object at twice the uo length of the ship. I kept lights at the mast-head, and a constant watch forward to look out for fishing-smacks, which are accustomed to lie at anchor on the banks. The wind was blowing a smacking breeze, and we were going at a great rate through the water. Suddenly the watch gave the alarm lis of ' A sail ahead ! ' — it was scarcely uttered before we were 91. Pored. To pore is to look close and long, to read or examine with steady or continued attention. 107. Banks of Newfoundland. These banks form one of the most exten- sive submarine elevations on the globe. They are between 600 and 700 miles in length, with a depth of water varying from 10 to 160 fathoms. Tlie famous Grand Bank swarms with cod and almost every other variety of fish. 112. Fishing-smacks, small vessels, usually sloop-rigged, used in the fisheries. 114. Smacking, making a sharp, lively sound. 6 THE SKETCH-BOOK. upon her. She was a small schooner, at anchor, with her broadside towards us. The crew were all asleep, and had neg- lected to hoist a light. We struck her just amidships. The force, the size, and weight of our vessel bore her down below 120 the waves ; we passed over her and were hurried on our course. As the crashing wreck was sinking beneath us, I had a glimpse of two or three half-naked wretches rushing from her cabin ; they just started from their beds to be swallowed shrieking by the waves. I heard their drowning cry mingling with the 125 wind. The blast that bore it to our ears swept us out of aU farther hearing. I shall never forget that cry ! It was some time before we could put the ship about, she was under such headway. We returned, as nearly as we could guess, to the place where the smack had anchored. We cruised about uo for several hours in the dense fog. We fired signal-guns, and listened if we might hear the halloo of any survivors ; but all was silent, — we never saw or heard anything of them more." I confess these stories, for a time, put an end to all my fine fancies. The storm increased with the night. The sea was 135 lashed into tremendous confusion. There was a fearful, sullen sound of rushing waves and broken surges. Deep called unto deep. At times the black volume of clouds overhead seemed rent asunder by flashes of lightning, which quivered along the foaming billows, and made the succeeding darkness doubly 140 terrible. The thunders bellowed over the wild waste of waters, and were echoed and prolonged by the mountain waves. As I saw the ship staggering and plunging among these roaring caverns, it seemed miraculous that she regained her bal- ance, or preserved her buoyancy. Her yards would dip into i« the water : her bow was almost buried beneath the waves. Sometimes an impendiag surge appeared ready to overwhelm 119. Amidships. (Nautical.) In the middle of a ship ; half-way between the stem and the stern. 128. Put the ship about. Change her course by tacking. 147. Impending (from Lat. in, on, upon, over, and pendere, to hang), hanging over, threatening. THE VOYAGE. 7 her, and nothing but a dexterous movement of the helm preserved her from the shock. When I retired to my cabin, the awful scene still followed iso me. The whistling of the wind through the rigging sounded like funereal wailings. The creaking of the masts, the straining and groaning of bulkheads, as the ship labored in the welter- ing sea, were frightful. As I heard the waves rushing along the sides of the ship, and roaring in my very ear, it seemed ih as if Death were raging round this floating prison, seeking for his prey; the mere starting of a nail, the yawning of a seam, might give him entrance. A fine day, however, with a tranquil sea and favoring breeze, soon put all these dismal reflections to flight. It is leo impossible to resist the gladdening influence of fine weather and fair wind at sea. When the ship is decked out in all her canvass, every sail swelled and careering gayly over the curling waves, how lofty, how gallant, she appears, — how she seems to lord it over the deep ! les I might fill a volume with the reveries of a sea voyage, for with me it is almost a continual reverie, — but it is time to get to shore. It was a fine sunny morning when the thrilling cry of " Land ! " was given from the mast-head, N'one but those iro who have experienced it can form an idea of the delicious throng of sensations which rush into an American's bosom when he first comes in sight of Europe. There is a volume of associations with the very name. It is the land of promise, teeming with everything of which his childhood has heard or vn on which his studious years have pondered. From that time until the moment of arrival, it was aU 153. Balkheads, board partitions making water-tight compartments in a ship. 156. Death were raging, etc. Personification (from personify, Lat. per- sona, a person, and facere, to make). It consists in representing inanimate objects or abstract notions as endued with life and action like a person, or possessing the qualities of living beings. 165. Lord it over. To act as a lord, to rule despotically. 8 THE SKETCH-BOOK. feverish excitement. The ships of war, that prowled like guardian giants along the coast; the headlands of Ireland, stretching out into the channel; the Welsh mountains, tow- iso ering into the clouds, — all were objects of intense interest. As we sailed up the Mersey, I reconnoitred the shores with a telescope. My eye dwelt with delight on neat cottages, with their trim shrubberies and green grass-plots. I saw the mouldering ruin of an abbey overrun with ivy, and the taper iss spire of a village church rising from the brow of a neighbor- ing hill, — all were characteristic of England. The tide and wind were so favorable that the ship was enabled to come at once to the pier. It was thronged with people; some idle lookers-on, others eager expectants of i90 friends or relatives. I could distinguish the merchant to whom the ship was consigned. I knew him by his calcu- lating brow and restless air. His hands were thrust into his pockets ; he was whistling thoughtfully, and walking to and fro, a small space having been accorded him by the crowd in 195 deference to his temporary importance. There were repeated cheerings and salutations interchanged between the shore and the ship, as friends happened to recognize each other. I par- ticularly noticed one young woman of humble dress, but inter- esting demeanor. She was leaning forward from among the 200 crowd ; her eye hurried over the ship as it neared the shore, to catch some wished-for countenance. She seemed disap- pointed and agitated, when I heard a faint voice call her name. It was from a poor sailor who had been ill all the voyage, and had excited the sympathy of every one on board. When 205 the weather was fine, his messmates had spread a mattress for him. on deck in the shade, but of late his illness had 182. Mersey (mir'zee), a river in England. It expands into a large estuary or arm of the Irish Sea, forming Liverpool harbor. Beconnoitred (Lat. recognoscSre, to take notice of again ; Fr. recomiaitre, to recognize), examined carefully. 185. Abbey (Fr. dbbaye; from Syi'iac abba, father), a monastery or similar building for persons of either sex, governed by an abbot or abbess. THE VOYAGE. 9 so increased that he had taken to his hammock, and only- breathed a wish that he might see his wife before he died. He had been helped on deck as we came up the river, and 210 was now leaning against the shrouds, with a countenance so wasted, so pale, so ghastly, that it was no wonder even the eye of affection did not recognize him. But at the sound of his voice her eye darted on his features ; it read, at once, a whole volume of sorrow ; she clasped her hands, uttered a faint 215 shriek, and stood wringing them in silent agony. All now was hurry and bustle, — the meetings of acquaint- ances, the greetings of friends, the consultations of men of business, I alone was solitary and idle. I had no friend to meet, no cheering to receive. I stepped upon the land of 220 my forefathers, but felt that I was a stranger in the land. SUGGESTIONS OF TOPICS OF INQUIRY. What is the gulf that a voyage interposes between us and our homes? What words describe it? " Whither he may be driven " (line 34). Why is lohither better than ivhere ? Which of them means to what place ? Which of them means at or in what place ? "I said that at sea all is vacancy" (line 38). Quote any previous passage containing this idea. What were some of the amusements of the voyage ? Day-dreaming ? Look- ing down " on the monsters of the deep at their uncouth gambols " ? Watch- ing a distant sail ? Contemplating the object seen at a distance, the mast of a wrecked sliip ? Story-telling ? Any other ? "Expectation, anxiety, dread, despair" (lines 93, 94). Which expresses the strongest feeling ? How are the words arranged ? Define a climax. What ' ' has brought the ends of the earth into communion " ? How ? Narrate in your own words the captain's story. Point out the most pathetic expressions in it. What does Irving say of the ship duriqg the storm ? Explain " how she seems to lord it over the deep ! " Contrast that with the description of her course during the storm. What were objects of interest as the ship approached the shore ? At what point did they land ? Describe the crowd on the pier. Who was the most important person there ? What pathetic incident is told ? 10 THE SKETCH-BOOK. " I stepped upon the land of my forefathers." Who ? Why land of my forefathers ? Express the idea of the last sentence in other words. Select nautical words or phrases in this sketch. Was the voyage made in a steamer or in a sailing vessel ? Give reasons for the answer. What is the general character of this sketch ? Description ? Commit to memory the paragraph beginning, "We one day descried some shapeless object," etc. Select and commit to memory any other passage in the piece. Give your reason for your selection. What is the simple subject in the first sentence in this sketch ? The entire subject ? GUIDE FOR ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. How many clauses ? Kinds ? (Dependent and independent, stating the number of each.) State the kind of each dependent clause, and tell what each modifies. (Dependent clauses are equivalent to some part of speech ; hence we have Noun clauses, Adjective clauses, and Adverbial clauses. ) Simple subject ? Modifiers of the subject ? Entire subject ? Simple predicate ? Modifiers of the predicate ? Entire predicate? Analyze clauses not already analyzed. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. " When I behold, with deep astonishment, To famous Westminster how tliere resorte. Living in brasse or stoney monument. The princes and the worthies of all sorte ; Doe not I see reformde nobilitie, Without contempt, or pride, or ostentation, And looke vipon offenselesse majesty. Naked of pomp or earthly domination ? And how a play-game of a painted stone Contents the quiet now and silent sprites, Wliome all the world which late tliey stood upon Could not content nor quench their appetites. Life is a frost of cold felicitie, And death the thaw of all our vanitie." Christolero's Epigrams, by T. B, 1598. On one of those sober and rather melancholy days, in the latter part of autumn, when the shadows of morning and even- ing almost mingle together, and throw a gloom over the decline of the year, I passed several hours in rambling about West- minster Abbey. There was something congenial to the season in the mournful magnificence of the old pile ; and as I passed its threshold, it seemed like stepping back into the regions of antiquity, and losing myself among the shades of former ages. 5. Minster ( A.-S. minstre or mynster ; Low Lat. monasterium). In Ger- many and in England this title is given to several large cathedrals or cathedral churches ; as, York Minster, the Minster'of Strasburg, etc. It is also found in the names of places which owe their origin to a monastery ; as, Westmin- ster, the minster or monastery of the West. Westminster is a city and borough, and forms the west portion of London. Westminster Abbey is in the form of a Latin cross ; it is 511 feet long by 203 wide across the transepts. For the word abbey see p. 8, line 188. 12 THE SKETCH-BOOK. I entered from the inner court of Westminster School, lo through a long, low, vaulted passage, that had an almost sub- terranean look, being dimly lighted in one part by circular perforations in the massive walls. Through this dark avenue I had a distant view of the cloisters, with the figure of an old verger, in his black gown, moving along their shadowy is vaults, and seeming like a spectre from one of the neighboring tombs. The approach to the abbey through these gloomy monastic remains prepares the mind for its solemn contem- plation. The cloisters still retain something of the quiet and seclusion of former days. The gray walls are discolored by 20 damps, and crumbling with age j a coat of hoary moss has gathered over the inscriptions of the mural monuments, and obscured the death's-heads and other funereal emblems. The sharp touches of the chisel are gone from the rich tracery of the arches ; the roses which adorned the keystones have lost 25 their leafy beauty; everything bears marks of the gradual dilapidations of time, which yet has something touching and pleasing in its very decay. The sun was pouring down a yellow autumnal ray into the square of the cloisters, beaming upon a scanty plot of grass so 10. Westminster School was founded by Queen Elizabeth. It retains the old dormitory of tlie abbey, and the old refectory of the abbot is now used as the Hall of the whole establisliment. There is a " foundation " for forty boys, who are called ' ' Queen's Scholars." Many distinguished men have been pupils there ; among them, Ben Jonson. 11. Subterranean (from Lat. sub, under, and terra, the earth), under the surface of the earth, imdergroimd. 