Editing Washington Irving (section)

====Secretary to the American legation in London====
Arriving in London, Irving joined the staff of American Minister [[Louis McLane]]. McLane immediately assigned the daily secretary work to another man and tapped Irving to fill the role of aide-de-camp.  The two worked over the next year to negotiate a trade agreement between the United States and the [[British West Indies]], finally reaching a deal in August 1830. That same year, Irving was awarded a medal by the Royal Society of Literature, followed by an honorary doctorate of civil law from Oxford in 1831.<ref>PMI, 2:429, 430, 431–32</ref>

Following McLane's recall to the United States in 1831 to serve as Secretary of Treasury, Irving stayed on as the legation's chargé d'affaires until the arrival of [[Martin Van Buren]], President [[Andrew Jackson]]'s nominee for British Minister. With Van Buren in place, Irving resigned his post to concentrate on writing, eventually completing ''[[Tales of the Alhambra]]'', which would be published concurrently in the United States and England in 1832.<ref>PMI, 3:17–21.</ref>

Irving was still in London when Van Buren received word that the United States Senate had refused to confirm him as the new Minister. Consoling Van Buren, Irving predicted that the Senate's partisan move would backfire. "I should not be surprised", Irving said, "if this vote of the Senate goes far toward elevating him to the presidential chair".<ref>Washington Irving to Peter Irving, London, March 6, 1832, ''Works'', 23:696</ref>