It is true, an old farmer, who had been down to New York, on a visit several years after, and from whom this account of the ghostly adventure was received, brought home the intelligence that Ichabod Crane was still alive; that he had left the neighborhood, partly through fear of the goblin and Hans Van Ripper, and partly in mortification at having been suddenly dismissed by the heiress; that he had changed his quarters to a distant part of the country; had kept school and studied law at the same time, had been admitted to the bar, turned politician, electioneered, written for the newspapers, and finally had been made a justice of the Ten Pound Court. Brom Bones, too, who shortly after his rival’s disappearance conducted the blooming Katrina in triumph to the altar, was observed to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related, and always burst into a hearty laugh at the mention of the pumpkin, which led some to suspect that he knew more about the matter than he chose to tell.

The old country wives, however, who are the best judges of these matters, maintain to this day that Ichabod was spirited away by supernatural means; and it is a favorite story often told about the neighborhood round the winter evening fire. The bridge became more than ever an object of superstitious awe, and that may be the reason why the road has been altered of late years, so as to approach the church by the border of the mill-pond. The schoolhouse being deserted soon fell to decay, and was reported to be haunted by the ghost of the unfortunate pedagogue; and the plowboy, loitering homeward of a still summer evening, has often fancied his voice at a distance, chanting a melancholy psalm tune among the tranquil solitudes of Sleepy Hollow.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS

For Biography, [see page 424].

Discussion. 1. What was the situation of Sleepy Hollow? 2. Read all the names Irving applies to this valley. 3. What impression do these names help to give? 4. What effect upon the inhabitants had the situation of the valley? 5. In describing this effect, what comparison does Irving use? 6. Why does Irving exaggerate Ichabod’s peculiarities? 7. What stories did Ichabod enjoy? 8. What effect did these have upon him? 9. For what is the author preparing the reader when he tells this? 10. How do you account for Ichabod’s disappearance? 11. Read all the hints throughout the story which helped you to come to this conclusion. 12. Read lines which show Irving’s humor. 13. What is the spirit of this humor? 14. Read lines which show Irving’s power to describe nature. 15. What do you think is the finest description in the tale? 16. Pronounce the following: inapplicable; genius; formidable; patrons; grievous; elm; Herculean; alternative; horizon; hospitable.

Phrases