and a complete drama, _Vortigern and Rowena_. He completely
deceived his _f._ and various men of letters and experts, but was
detected by Malone, and the representation of _Vortigern_ on the stage
completed the exposure. I. then tried novel-writing, in which he failed.
He _pub._ a confession in regard to the forgeries, in which he asserted
that his _f._ had no part in the imposture, but had been completely
deceived by it.

IRVING, EDWARD (1792-1834).--Theologian and orator, _b._ at Annan,
Dumfriesshire, and _ed._ at Edin. Univ., for some years thereafter was
engaged in teaching at Kirkcaldy. Ordained to the ministry of the Church
of Scotland he became, in 1819, assistant to Dr. Chalmers in Glasgow,
after which he went to the Scotch Church in Hatton Gardens, London, where
he had an almost unprecedented popularity, his admirers including De
Quincey, Coleridge, Canning, Scott, and others. The effect of his spoken
oratory is not preserved in his writings, and was no doubt in a
considerable degree due to his striking appearance and fine voice. He is
described as "a tall, athletic man, with dark, sallow complexion and
commanding features; long, glossy black hair, and an obvious squint."
Soon after removing to a new church in Regent Square he began to develop
his views relative to the near approach of the Second Advent; and his
_Homilies on the Sacraments_ involved him in a charge of heretical views
on the person of Christ, which resulted in his ejection from his church,
and ultimately in his deposition from the ministry. Thereafter his views
as to the revival, as in the early Church, of the gifts of healing and of
tongues, to which, however, he made no personal claim, underwent rapid
development, and resulted in the founding of a new communion, the
Catholic Apostolic Church, the adherents of which are commonly known as
"Irvingites." Whether right or mistaken in his views there can be no
doubt of the personal sincerity and nobility of the man. His _pub._
writings include _For the Oracles of God_, _For Judgment to Come_, and
_The Last Days_, and contain many passages of majestic eloquence.

IRVING, WASHINGTON (1783-1859).--Essayist and historian, _b._ in New
York, _s._ of William I. who had emigrated from Scotland. He was in his
youth delicate, and his education was somewhat desultory, but his _f._
had a fine library, of which he had the run, and he was an omnivorous
reader. In 1799 he entered a law office, but a threateni