華盛頓·歐文/Washington Irving
華盛頓·歐文（Washington Irving,1783-1859），美國文學的奠基人之一，他所撰寫的遊記文學堪稱世界文壇的經典之作。歐文出身於美國一個富商家庭，遵從父命到霍夫曼的法律事務所學習，但做律師並非他真心所願，因為自幼飽讀書史的歐文對曆代傳聞軼事很感興趣，酷愛文學和旅行。在國外旅行的17年，他創造了大量的優秀作品，其中《見聞劄記》最為著名。這些傑作鑄造了他在美國文壇上的堅固地位，他被譽為“美國文學之父”。
My aunt was a lady of large frame, strong mind, and gread resolution. She was what might be termed a very manly woman. My uncle was a thin, puny little man, very meck and acquiescent, and no match for my aunt. It was observed that he dwindled and dwindled gradually away, from the day of his marriage. His wife’s powerful mind was too much for him;it wore him out. My aunt, however, took all possible care of him;had half the doctors in town to prescribe for him;made him take all their prescriptions, and dosed him with physic enough to cure a whole hospital. All was in vain. My uncle grew worse and worse the more dosing and nursing he underwent, until in the end he added another to the long list of matrimonial victims who have been killed with kindness.
“And was it his ghost that appeared, to her？”asked the inquisitive gentleman, who had questioned the former storyteller.
“You shall hear,”replied the narrator-My aunt took on mightily for the death of her poor dear husband. Perhaps she felt some compunction at having given him so much physic, and nursed him into the grave. At any rate, she did all that a widow could do to honor his memory. She spared no expense in either the quantity or quality of her mourning weeds;wore a miniature of him about her neck as large as a little sundial, and had a full-length portrait of him always hanging in her bedchamber. All the world extolled her conduct to the skies;and it was determined that a woman who behaved so well to the memory of one husband deserved soon to get another.