Her mighty lakes,
like oceans of liquid silver; her mountains, with their bright aerial
tints; her valleys, teeming with wild fertility; her tremendous
cataracts, thundering in their solitudes; her boundless plains, waving
with spontaneous verdure; her broad, deep rivers, rolling in solemn
silence to the ocean; her trackless forests, where vegetation puts
forth all its magnificence; her skies, kindling with the magic of
summer clouds and glorious sunshine:--no, never need an American
look beyond his own country for the sublime and beautiful of natural
scenery."[2]
[Footnote 2: Sketch Book, vol. i.]
Mr. Irving began his career, as an author, in periodical literature.
His first work was a humorous journal, entitled "Salmagundi, or the
Whim-Whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. and Others,"
originally published in numbers in New York, where it met with a very
flattering reception. The date of the first paper is Saturday, January
24, 1827.
Salmagundi has been several times reprinted in this country; and it
may be acceptable to know, that the cheapest, if not the most elegant,
edition may be purchased for twenty-pence. It would be difficult to
explain the merits of Salmagundi to the reader, as they are of the
most varied character; but, it may be remarked generally, that a vein
of quaint humour and human kindness pervades these early papers, which
will bring the reader and writer to the best possible terms.
This lively miscellany was followed by a humorous History of New York,
with the somewhat droll _nom_ of Dedrick Knickerbocker as its author.
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