resembles as Goldsmith: although no imitator, his style and language
forcibly remind us of that easy flow so peculiar to the Citizen of
the World. But, we have higher warrant for this parallel. "It seems
probable," observes a critical writer of considerable acumen, "that
Mr. Irving might prove no contemptible rival to Goldsmith, whose turn
of mind he very much inherits, and of whose style he particularly
reminds us. Like him, too, Mr. Irving possesses the art of setting
ludicrous perplexities in the most irresistible point of view, and we
think equals him in the variety of humour."[7]

[Footnote 7: Quarterly Review.--Such is the variety displayed in
the Salmagundi; the papers were supposed to be the joint efforts of
several literati.]

To conclude, we find the literary character of Mr. Irving illustrated
in a contemporary journal, with unusual spirit. "There never was a
writer," observes the editor, "whose popularity was more matter of
feeling, or more intimate than Washington Irving, perhaps, because
he appeared at once to our simplest and kindliest emotions. His
affections were those of 'hearth and home;' the pictures he
delighted to draw were those of natural loveliness, linked with human
sympathies; and a too unusual thing with the writers of our time--he
looked upon God's works, and 'saw that they were good.' * * * With
him the wine of life is not always on the lees. An exquisite vein of
poetry runs through every page,--and of poetry, his epithets who does
not remember--'the shark, glancing like a spectre through the blue
seas.'"[8]

[Footnote 8: Literary Gazette.]