The most widely read of all the works of the Spanish group is _The Alhambra_ (1832). This is, on the surface, a collection of semihistorical essays and tales clustering around the ancient palace, in Granada, which was the last stronghold of the Moors in Europe; in reality it is a record of the impressions and dreams of a man who, finding himself on historic ground, gives free rein to his imagination. At times, indeed, he seems to have his eye on his American readers, who were then in a romantic mood, rather than on the place or people he was describing. The book delighted its first critics, who called it "the Spanish Sketch Book"; but though pleasant enough as a romantic dream of history, it hardly compares in originality with its famous predecessor. [Sidenote: WESTERN STORIES] Except to those who like a brave tale of exploration, and who happily have no academic interest in style, Irving's western books are of little consequence. In fact, they are often omitted from the list of his important works, though they have more adventurous interest than all the others combined. _A Tour on the Prairies_, which records a journey beyond the Mississippi in the days when buffalo were the explorers' mainstay, is the best written of the pioneer books; but the _Adventures of Captain Bonneville_, a story of wandering up and down the great West with plenty of adventures among Indians and "free trappers," furnishes the most excitement. Unfortunately this journal, which vies in interest with Parkman's _Oregon Trail_, cannot be credited to Irving, though it bears his name on the title-page. [Footnote: The _Adventures_ is chiefly the work of a Frenchman, a daring free-rover, who probably tried in vain to get his work published. Irving bought the work for a thousand dollars, revised it slightly, gave it his name and sold it for seven or eight times what he paid for it. In _Astoria_, the third book of the western group, he sold his services to write up the records of the fur house established by John Jacob Astor, and made a poor job of it.] [Illustration: OLD DUTCH CHURCH, SLEEPY HOLLOW Mentioned by Irving in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"] [Sidenote: BIOGRAPHIES]