Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

by Washington Irving

222.25-26 “to a last year’s pippin of his own graffing, with a dish of carraways;”] Henry IV, Part II, V, iii.

  222.36 description of a Mr. Hastings] Henry Hastings (1551-1650) son of the fourth earl of Huntingdon. Anthony Ashley Cooper, the first earl of Shaftesbury, inscribed on Hastings’ portrait an account of his life, which was later reprinted in various publications. The passage in Shaftesbury’s account is practically identical to the one quoted.

  223.1-6 “By cock and pye, Sir....”] See note 183.38.

  223.13-14 “‘Tis merry in hall....”] Henry IV, Part II, V, iii.

  223.18 “working day world”] As You Like It, I, iii.

  223.24 airy nothings] “The poet’s pen ... gives to airy nothing / A local habitation and a name.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream, V, i.

  223.26 I had heard Jaques soliloquize beneath his oak] As You Like It, II, vii.

  223.27-28 the fair Rosalind ... woodlands] In As You Like It.

  223.29-30 Falstaff ... Justice Shallow ... Master Slender ... Anne Page] They are all characters in The Merry Wives of Windsor; and, as the preceding quotations indicate, the three men also appear in Henry IV, Parts I and II.

  TRAITS OF INDIAN CHARACTER

  225.6 SPEECH OF AN INDIAN CHIEF] Logan, or Tahgahjute (ca. 1725- 1780), a Cayuga who acquired great influence with the Shawnee after marrying into their tribe, supposedly sent this speech to a peace council after a battle with the British at Point Pleasant on the Ohio in 1774. Its authenticity has been questioned.

  226.37-42 The American government has been indefatigable ....] The government’s sincerity and fairness have in recent times been seriously questioned.

  227.9-15 “For,” says an old historian.... meanly of.“] The passage is quoted almost word for word from Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan (1637), bk. 1, p. 178.

  228.12-13 an old record of the early settlement] Morton’s New English Canaan. The incident occurs in bk. 3, pp. 169-71, and Irving’s report of the sachem’s speech closely follows Morton’s.

  230.32-33 glorious “pomp and circumstance of war,”] Othello, III, iii: “pomp and circumstance of glorious war!”

  231.36-38 one of the homely narratives ... Pequod Indians. A Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians in New-England (Boston, 1677) by the Reverend William Hubbard (1621-1704), who emigrated to New England in 1635.

  233.9-10 that gigantic race said to have existed on the borders of the Susquehanna] Unidentified.

  233.14-15 “the places that now know them will know them no more for ever.”] Unidentified.

  233.25-28 “We are driven back ... to exist.”] Source unidentified.

  PHILIP OF POKANOKET

  234.9 CAMPBELL] Thomas Campbell (1777-1844), Scottish poet. The quotation is from “Gertrude of Wyoming” (1809), a poem focusing on a Mohawk raid on the Pennsylvania settlement of Wyoming. See pt. 1, stanza 23, lines 3-9.

  235.11 PHILIP OF POKANOKET] He died in 1676. Irving is essentially correct in the details of his life.

  235.41 a celebrated English poet] Robert Southey (1774-1843), who became poet laureate of England in 1813. The poem Irving refers to is “Oliver Newman, A New England Tale” (1837).

  237.4 Metamocet] Actually Metacomet.

  239.34 one of the learned men of the day] That is, Increase Mather.

  239.41 *The Rev. Increase Mather’s History] A Brief History of the War with the Indians in New England (1676) by Increase Mather (1639-1723), the father of Cotton Mather, for whom see note 276.41.

  240.3-4 a worthy clergyman of the time] The Reverend William Hubbard. See note 231.36-38.

  241.39-41 “He was ... English;”] Hubbard.

  243.9-10 “he would fight it out ... English.”] Hubbard.

  243.33 peag] Beads made from shell, strung together and used by the Indians as money.

  243.38-39 “his heart and his bowels ... of strength.”] Hubbard.

  244.5-10 Being questioned ... answer.“] Hubbard.

  244.19-20 “and he desired to hear no more thereof.”] Hubbard.

  244.27-28 “that he liked it well ... himself.”] Hubbard.

  244.29 Stonington] in Connecticut.

  245.2-8 “His ruin ... away.”] Hubbard.

  245.18-19 where the wicked ... troubling] Job 3:17: “There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.”

  245.26 “most horrid and diabolical lamentations.”] Hubbard.

  245.29-33 “he never rejoiced afterwards ... deliverance.”] Hubbard.

  245.41-246.5 “Phillip,” he says ... upon him.“] Hubbard.

  246.33 “beloved wife and only son”] Hubbard.

  JOHN BULL

  248.1 JOHN BULL] Law is a Bottomless Pit, or the History of John Bull (1712), a satire by Dr. John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), contained a character named “John Bull” who allegorically stood for England. The name soon gained popularity and was applied to the nation or a particular Englishman. Irving’s friend James K. Paulding wrote The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan, and sent Irving a copy of it in 1812.

  248.37-38 beyond the sound of Bow bells.] See note 94.35.

  250.31-32 “gentlemen of the fancy;”] Those who fancy a particular sport or amusement, especially boxing.

  253.4 beef eaters] Here referring to soldiers.

  254.16-17 obstreperous conduct of one of his sons] Perhaps an allusion to “Orator Hunt,” a popular agitator of the time who always managed to keep himself out of trouble.

  254.42 Tom, an officer] Tommy Atkins, the nickname given to British soldiers. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, many British officers were on half pay.

  255.10-11 he is mortgaged over head and ears] The national debt had grown from a hundred and thirty million pounds before the American Revolution to seven hundred million after the Napoleonic Wars.

  255.32 pockets ... empty] From 1797 to 1821 Bank of England notes were not redeemable in gold.

  THE PRIDE OF THE VILLAGE

  257.3-9 May no wolfe howle.... HERRICK] Stanza 12 of “The Dirge of Jephthah’s Daughter.” See note 110.38.

  258.24 flower of the field] Ps. 103:15; Isa. 40:6.

  258.25-26 Rachel, “mourning ... comforted.”] See Jer. 31:15 and Matt. 2:18.

  259.3-6 “This is the prettiest ... place.”] The Winter’s Tale, IV, iv.

  262.19 the silver cord] Eccles. 12:6.

  THE ANGLER

  264.2-10 This day dame Nature.... SIR H. WOTTON] Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639), ambassador, poet, provost of Eton College. His works are collected under the title Reliquiae Wottonianae. These lines are from a poem quoted by Izaak Walton in The Compleat Angler, pt. 1, chap. 1. See note 172.22-23.

  264.16-17 Izaak Walton ... “Complete Angler”] See note 172.22-23.

  264.31 La Mancha ... Sierra Morena] Don Quixote, pt. 1, bk. 3, chap. 9.

  265.40-41 “good honest, wholesome, hungry” repast] The Compleat Angler, pt. 1, chap. 4.

  266.1-2 Izaak Walton’s scene with the milkmaid] The Compleat Angler, in pt. 1, chap. 2.

  266.26 “brothers of the angle,”] A reiterated phrase in The Compleat Angler.

  266.27 “mild, sweet and peaceable spirit”] The Compleat Angler, pt. 1, chap. 1.

  266.28-29 “Tretyse of fishing with the Angle,”] A Treatyse of Fysshynge wythan Angle, by Dame Juliana Berners (about whom nothing is known), was the first English book on fishing. It was printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1496. This quotation is from the next-to-last page, and is followed by the passage quoted in Irving’s note.

  267.14 instructions of the sage Piscator to his scholar] In The Compleat Angler.

  267.33 battle of Camperdown] On October 11, 1797, Admiral Duncan defeated the Dutch fleet off Camperdown on the Dutch coast.

  267.38 the “noble art of angling.”] Irving is presumably quoting again from Walton.

  268.33-39 “When I would ... him”] The Compleat Angler, pt. 1, end of chap. 21.

  269.1-14 Let me live ... daffodil. ] The opening lines of a poem quoted in The Comp
leat Angler, pt. 1, chap. 1. The book from which the quotation comes was published in 1613 and was written by John Dennys (d. 1609), not J. Davors.

  269.30-31 naval ballads, such as Admiral Hosier’s Ghost] Richard Glover (1712-1785) wrote this ballad. It is printed in Percy’s Reliques, vol. 2, bk. 3, song 25.

  269.31 All in the Downs] Better known as “Sweet William’s Farewell to Black-eyed Susan,” by John Gay (1685-1732).

  269.31 Tom Bowling] A song by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814), playwright and songwriter. It is based on Lieutenant Tom Bowling, Roderick’s uncle in Tobias Smollett’s Roderick Random.

  271.8 St. Peter’s master] That is, Jesus.

  271.9-10 “and upon all that ... go a angling.”] A similarly worded passage closes Chapter 13 of Part 1 of The Compleat Angler.

  THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW

  “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” has literary antecedents transmuted by the author’s imagination. Bürger’s “Der wilde Jäger” is an important literary source, while the chase and throwing of the false head are found in the Rübezahl legends of Germany.

  272.8 CASTLE OF INDOLENCE] By James Thomson; canto 1, stanza 6. See also note 16.7.

  272.12-13 implored the protection of St. Nicholas] St. Nicholas was the protector of shipwrecked sailors, and others in hazardous trades.

  273.6 Hendrick Hudson] See note 40.12.

  273.14-15 the night mare, with her whole nine fold] See King Lear, III, iv.

  275.5-6 “spare the rod and spoil the child.”] Samuel Butler’s Hudibras (1663-1678), bk. 2, canto 1, line 844. See Prov. 13:24, “He that spareth the rod hateth his son.”

  276.2-3 the lion bold ... hold] In the New England Primer (ca. 1683) the couplet accompanying the letter L read, “The lion bold / The lamb doth hold.”

  276.17-18 “by hook and by crook,”] The phrase apparently dates back to the fourteenth century, but its origin is unknown.

  276.41 Cotton Mather’s History of New England Witchcraft] Cotton Mather (1663-1728) was the most famous of the Mather dynasty of ministers. Irving’s reference is probably to Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions (1689), though Mather also wrote on witchcraft in two other major works: Magnalia Christi Americana, and The Wonders of the Invisible World.

  277.21 token] Apparently a sign or warning.

  277.25 “in linked sweetness ...”] “Of linked sweetness long drawn out,” Milton, L’Allegro, line 140.

  278.33 Saardam] A town about five miles northwest of Amsterdam; also called Zaandam.

  281.37 Don Cossacks] See note 5.29.

  282.3 rantipole] wild, disorderly.

  282.17 supple jack] A climbing shrub with strong stems from which walking sticks are often made.

  285.36 monteiro] Montero, a round huntsman’s cap with a flap.

  287.14-15 oly koek, and ... cruller] oly koek: sweetened dough fried in lard; kruller: dough twisted into various shapes, and crisply fried in lard or oil.

  288.38 Whiteplains] General Howe was defeated by the Americans at White Plains, north of New York City, on October 28, 1776.

  289.23 Major André] The British officer (1751-1780) who was involved in Benedict Arnold’s attempt to betray West Point. Despite much popular sympathy for the personable André, he was hanged as a spy.

  291.11 the very witching time of night] Hamlet, III, ii.

  294.23 “If I can but reach that bridge,”] Alluding to the belief that supernatural beings could not cross running water.

  296.3 Ten Pound Court] That is, small claims court.

  L’ENVOY

  298.7 CHAUCER’S Belle Dame sansMercie] Although formerly attributed to Chaucer, La Belle Dame sans Mercie is a mid-fifteenth-century translation by Sir Richard Ros of a poem by Alain Chartier.

  SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

  The Complete Works of Washington Irving. 29 volumes. Gen. eds. Henry A. Pochmann, Herbert L.Kleinfield, Richard D. Rust. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, and Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1969-88.

  GENERAL STUDIES OF IRVING’S LIFE, WORKS, TIMES

  Bowden, Mary Weatherspoon. Washington Irving (Twayne’s United States Authors Series, no. 379). Boston: G. K. Hall, 1981.

  Brodwin, Stanley, ed. The Old and New World Romanticism of Washington Irving. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1986.

  Brooks, Van Wyck. The World of Washington Irving. Cleveland: The World Publishing Co., 1944.

  Hedges, William L. Washington Irving: An American Study, 1802-1832. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1965.

  Kasson, Joy S. Artistic Voyagers: Europe and the American Imagination in the Works of Irving, Cooper, Hawthorne, Allston, and Cole. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press,1982.

  Lynen, John F. “The Fiction in the Landscape: Irving and Cooper,” in The Design of the Present: Essays on Time and Form in American Literature. New Haven; Yale University Press, 1969. Pp. 153-204.

  Myers, Andrew B., ed. A Century of Commentary on the Works of Washington Irving. Tarrytown, N. Y.: Sleepy Hollow Restorations, 1976.

  Pochmann, Henry A., ed. Washington Irving: Representative Selections. New York: American Book Co., 1934.

  Reichart, Walter. Washington Irving and Germany. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1957.

  Ringe, Donald A. American Gothic: Imagination and Reason in Nineteenth-Century Fiction. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1982. ————. The Pictorial Mode: Space and Time in the Act of Bryant, Irving and Cooper. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1971.

  Roth, Martin. Comedy and America: The Lost World of Washington Irving. Port Washington, N. Y.: Kennikat Press, 1976.

  Rubin-Dorsky, Jeffrey. Adrift in the Old World: The Pilgrimage of Washington Irving. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.

  Wagenknecht, Edward. Washington Irving: Moderation Displayed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1962.

  Williams, Stanley T. The Life of Washington Irving. 2 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1935.

  THE SKETCH BOOK: LITERARY HISTORY, CRITICISM, AND INTERPRETATION

  Bone, Robert. “Irving’s Headless Hessian: Prosperity and the Inner Life.” American Quarterly, 15 (1963), 167-75.

  Clendenning, John. “Irving and the Gothic.” Bucknell Review, 12 (1964), 90-98.

  Daigrepont, Lloyd M. “Ichabod Crane: Inglorious Man of Letters.” Early American Literature, 19 (1984), 68-81.

  Dawson, William P. “‘Rip Van Winkle’ as Bawdy Satire: The Rascal and the Revolution.” ESQ: A Journal of the American Renaissance, 27 (1981), 198-206.

  Fetterly, Judith. “An American Dream: ‘Rip Van Winkle,’ ” in The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to American Fiction. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978. Pp. 1-11.

  Heiman, Marcel. “Rip Van Winkle: A Psychoanalytic Note on the Story and its Author.” American Imago, 16 (1959), 3-47.

  Hoffman, Daniel. “Prefigurations: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,’” in Form and Fable in American Fiction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1961. Pp. 83-96.

  Kann, David J. “‘Rip Van Winkle’: Wheels within Wheels.” American Imago , 36 (1979), 178-96.

  Leary, Lewis. “The Two Voices of Washington Irving,” in From Irving to Steinbeck: Studies in American Literature in Honor of Harry R. Warfel, ed. Motley Deakin, Peter Liska. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1972. Pp. 13-26.

  LeFevre, Louis. “Paul Bunyan and Rip Van Winkle.” Yale Review, 36 (1946), 66-76.

  Martin, Terence. “Rip, Ichabod, and the American Imagination.” American Literature, 31 (1959), 137-49.

  Pajak, Edward F. “Washington Irving’s Ichabod Crane: American Narcissus.” American Imago, 38 (1981), 127-35.

  Pattee, Fred Lewis. The Development of the American Short Story, ch. 1. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1923.

  Pochmann, Henry A. “Irving’s German Sources in The Sketch Book.” Studies in Philology, 37 (1930), 477-507.

  Ringe, Donald A. “New York and New England: Irving’s Criticism of American Society.” American Literatur
e, 38 (1967), 455-67.

  Rubin-Dorsky, Jeffrey. “Washington Irving and the Genesis of the Fictional Sketch.” Early American Literature, 21 (1986/87), 226-47.

  Seelye, John. “Root and Branch: Washington Irving and American Humor.” Nineteenth-Century Fiction, 38 (1984), 415-25.

  Shear, Walter. “Time in ‘Rip Van Winkle’ and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.’ ” Midwest Quarterly, 15 (1976), 158-72.

  Springer, Haskell. “Creative Contradictions in Irving,” in Washington Irving Reconsidered: A Symposium, ed. Ralph M. Aderman. Hartford, Conn.: Transcendental Books, 1969. Pp. 14-18.

  Young, Philip. “Fallen from Time: The Mythic Rip Van Winkle.” Kenyon Review, 22 (1960), 547-73.

  Zlogar, Richard J. “‘Accessories that Covertly Explain’: Irving’s Use of Dutch Genre Painting in ‘Rip Van Winkle.’ ” American Literature, 54 (1982), 44-62.

  1 Address on the opening of the Liverpool Institution.

  2 From a poem on the death of the Princess Charlotte, by the Reverend Rann Kennedy, A. M.

  3 Buchanan.

  4 Ballenden’s Translation of Hector Boyce.

  5 Roger l’Estrange.

  6 Lyf, person.

  7 Twistis, small boughs or twigs.

  Note.—The language of the quotations is generally modernized.

  8 Setten, incline.

  9 Gilt, what injury have I done, &c.

  10 Wrought gold.

  11 Largesse, bounty.

  12 Estate, dignity.

  13 Cunning, discretion.

  14 Part of a sketch omitted in the preceding editions.

  15 The following was the ancient inscription on the monument of this worthy—which unhappily was destroyed in the great conflagration—