Irving's reluctance to ally himself
intimately with political affairs, and to assume advocacy of special
measures, it is certain that he never failed in open-hearted, outspoken
utterance for the cause of virtue, of human liberty, and of his country.
There were vulgar assailants, indeed, who alleged at one time that he
had thoroughly denationalized himself by his long absences. The charge
he always regarded as an affront, and met with scorn. There are those so
grossly constituted as to measure a man's love of his own country by the
sneers he flings at the country of others. It was not in Mr. Irving's
nature to sneer at even an enemy; it was not his way of making conquest.
He recognized fully the advantages of a foreign life (at his date) in
following up that career of belles-lettres study which he had marked out
for himself. The free _entree_ of European libraries and galleries, and
familiar association with a class of cultivated men of leisure, (in
countries where such a class exists,) offered opportunity for refining
his taste, for enlarging his stock of available material, and for
stimulating his mental activity, of which he was not slow to perceive
the value, and of which he has given ample account.
There is much that is interesting in the Life before us in regard to Mr.
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