_The Alhambra_, a book of tales of the old Moorish palace in Granada,
Spain, has been aptly termed "The Spanish Sketch Book." This has preserved
the romance of departed Moorish glory almost as effectively as the
Knickerbocker sketches and stories have invested the early Dutch settlers
of New York with something like Homeric immortality. A traveler in Spain
writes of _The Alhambra_: "Not Ford, nor Murray, nor Hare has been able to
replace it. The tourist reads it within the walls it commemorates as
conscientiously as the devout read Ruskin in Florence." [Footnote:
Introduction to Pennell's illustrated edition of _The Alhambra_.]
In his three works, _The Sketch Book_, _The Tales of a Traveller_, and _The
Alhambra_, Irving proved himself the first American master of the short
tale or sketch, yet he is not the father of the modern short story, which
aims to avoid every sentence unless it directly advances the narrative or
heightens the desired impression. His description and presentation of
incident do not usually tend to one definite goal, after the fashion
theoretically prescribed by the art of the modern short story. The author
of a modern short tale would need to feel the dire necessity of recording
the sage observation of a Dutch housewife, that "ducks and geese are
foolish things, and must be looked after, but girls can take care of
themselves.
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