Works of Washington Irving: Life and letters

Front Cover
J. B. Lippincott & Company, 1869

From inside the book

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 192 - Look, where he comes ! Not poppy, nor mandragora, Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world, Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep Which thou ow'dst yesterday.
Page 97 - Our life contains a thousand springs, And dies if one be gone : Strange ! that a harp of thousand strings Should keep in tune so long.
Page 131 - Netherlands, stands a little, old-fashioned stone mansion, all made up of gable ends, and as full of angles -and corners as an old cocked hat.
Page 165 - The best laid schemes o' mice and men Gang aft agley And leave us nought but grief and pain For promised joy.
Page 165 - We expected to have a quick trip; but alas! the 'best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley', and so it was with us.
Page 68 - Tu se' solo colui, da cui io tolsi Lo bello stile che m
Page 67 - ... author. While the productions of writers of loftier pretension and more sounding names are suffered to moulder on our shelves, those of Goldsmith are cherished and laid in our bosoms. We do not quote them with ostentation, but they mingle with our minds, sweeten our tempers, and harmonize our thoughts ; they put us in good humor with ourselves and with the world, and in so doing they make us happier and better men.
Page 167 - The account of my midnight rambles about the old palace is literally true, yet gives but a feeble idea of my feelings and impressions, and of the singular haunts I was exploring. Everything in the work relating to myself, and to the actual inhabitants of the Alhambra, is unexaggerated fact. It was only in the legends that I indulged in romancing ; and these were founded on materials picked up about the place.
Page 200 - And shoot a dullness to my trembling heart. Give me thy hand, and let me hear thy voice; Nay, quickly speak to me, and let me hear Thy voice — my own affrights me with its echoes.
Page 47 - I long to be once more back at dear little Sunnyside, 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. I grudge every year of absence that rolls by. To-morrow is my birthday. I shall then be sixty-two years old. The evening of life is fast drawing over me; still I hope to get back among my friends while there is a little sunshine left.

Bibliographic information