Yukon.

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

[Illustration]

STORIES OF AMERICAN LITERATURE.

WASHINGTON IRVING.

BY HENRIETTA CHRISTIAN WRIGHT.

"Left his lodging some time ago, and has not been heard of
since--a small elderly gentleman, dressed in an old black
coat and cocked hat, by the name of Knickerbocker.... Any information
concerning him will be thankfully received."

Such was the curious advertisement that appeared in the _Evening Post_
under the date of October 26, 1809, attracting the attention of all New
York. People read it as they sat at supper, talked of it afterward
around their wood fires, and thought of it again and again before they
fell asleep at night. And yet not a soul knew the missing old gentleman,
or had ever heard of him before. Still, he was no stranger to them, for
he was a Knickerbocker, and every one was interested in the
Knickerbockers, and every one felt almost as if a grandfather or
great-grandfather had suddenly come back to life, and disappeared again
still more suddenly, without a word of explanation.

For some time nothing more was heard of Diedrich Knickerbocker, and then
another advertisement appeared in the _Post_, saying he had been seen
twice on the road to Albany. Some time again elapsed, and finally the
landlord of the inn at which he had been reported to have stopped gave
up hope of ever seeing his guest again, and declared that he should sell
the manuscript of a book that Mr. Knickerbocker had left behind, and
take the proceeds in payment of his bill. People were really excited
about the fate of the old gentleman, and one of the city officials was
upon the point of offering a reward for his discovery, when a curious
thing happened. It was found that there was no old gentleman by the name
of Knickerbocker who had wandered away from his lodging; that there was
no inn at which he had lived, and no manuscript he had left behind, and
that, in fact, Mr. Knickerbocker was simply the hero of a book of which
the author took this clever means of advertising. The book claimed to be
the true history of the discovery and settlement of New York, and began
with an account of the creation of the world, passing on to the manners,
customs, and historical achievements of the old Hollanders who settled
Manhattan Island. Here we read of the golden reign of the first Dutch
Governor, Wouter Van Twiller, who was exactly five feet six inches in
height and six feet five inches in circumfer