The Crayon Papers by Irving, Washington, 1783-1859

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The Crayon Papers The Seminoles Letter From Granada A Contented Man * * * * *

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The Great Mississippi Bubble "a Time Of Unexampled Prosperity"

* * * * * Don Juan A Spectral Research

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* * * * * Broek Of The Dutch Paradise

* * * * * Sketches In Paris In 1825 From The Traveling Note-book Of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.

My French Neighbor

* * * * * The Englishman At Paris

* * * * * English And French Character

* * * * * The Tuileries And Windsor Castle

The Field Of Waterloo

* * * * * * * * * * Paris At The Restoration

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American Researches In Italy Life Of Tasso: Recovery Of A Lost Portrait Of Dante

G. C. The Taking Of The Veil * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * The Charming Letorieres

Noted Down From His Conversations

The Seminoles

Origin Of The White, The Red, And The Black Men A Seminole Tradition

The Conspiracy Of Neamathla An Authentic Sketch

Letter From Granada Granada, 1828.

* * * * * Abderahman Founder Of The Dynasty Of The Ommiades Of Spain G.c. * * * * *

The Widow's Ordeal Or A Judicial Trial By Combat

The Creole Village A Sketch From A Steamboat

A Contented Man

"'Don Manuel de Manara,' was the reply; and it went cold to his heart. He looked, and indeed beheld the armorial bearings of his family emblazoned on the funeral escutcheons. Yet not one of his family was to be seen among the mourners. The mystery was more and more incomprehensible.

"He followed the procession as it moved on to the cathedral. The bier was deposited before the high altar; the funeral service was commenced, and the grand organ began to peal through the vaulted aisles.

"Again the youth ventured to question this awful pageant. 'Father,' said he, with trembling voice, to one of the priests, 'who is this you are about to inter?'

"'Don Manuel de Manara!' replied the priest.

"'Father,' cried Don Manuel, impatiently, 'you are deceived. This is some imposture. Know that Don Manuel de Manara la alive and well, and now stands before you. _I_ am Don Manuel de Manara!'

"'Avaunt, rash youth!' cried the priest; 'know that Don Manuel de Manara is dead!--is dead!--is dead!--and we are all souls from purgatory, his deceased relatives and ancestors, and others that have been aided by masses of his family, who are permitted to come here and pray for the repose of his soul!'

"Don Manuel cast round a fearful glance upon the assemblage, in antiquated Spanish garbs, and recognized in their pale and ghastly countenances the portraits of many an ancestor that hung in the family picture-gallery. He now lost all self-command, rushed up to the bier, and beheld the counterpart of himself, but in the fixed and livid lineaments of death. Just at that moment the whole choir burst forth with a 'Requiescat in pace,' that shook the vaults of the cathedral. Don Manuel sank senseless on the pavement. He was found there early the next morning by the sacristan, and conveyed to his home. When sufficiently recovered, he sent for a friar and made a full confession of all that had happened.

"'My son,' said the friar, 'all this is a miracle and a mystery, intended for thy conversion and salvation. The corpse thou hast seen was a token that thou hadst died to sin and the world; take warning by it, and henceforth live to righteousness and heaven!'

"Don Manuel did take warning by it. Guided by the counsels of the worthy friar, he disposed of all his temporal affairs; dedicated the greater part of his wealth to pious uses, especially to the performance of masses for souls in purgatory; and finally, entering a convent, became one of the most zealous and exemplary monks in Seville."