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riding, he would 103 thrust 104 through the roof, kicking 105 to pieces all the work of the preceding 106 day. The house was therefore left 107 to its fate, and went 108 to ruin.109 Such is the popular 110 tradition about 111 Goldsmith's birthplace.

About 112 two years after his birth a change 113 came over 114 the circumstances of his father; by 115 the death of his wife's uncle he succeeded to116 the rectory 117 of Kilkenny West; and, abandoning 118 the old goblin mansion 119, he removed 120 to Lissoy, in the county of Westmeath, where he occupied 121 a farm 122 of seventy acres, situated on 123 the skirts 124 of that pretty little village. This was the scene 125 of Goldsmith's boyhood 126, the little world whence 127 he drew 128 many of those pictures, rural129 and domestic, whimsical130 and touching 131, which abound132 throughout his works, and which appeal 133 so eloquently134, both to 135 the fancy 136 and the heart.

XII. GOLDSMITH'S FATHER.

LISSOY is confidently1 cited as the original3 of his “ Auburn" in the "Deserted Village;" his father's establishment*, a mixture5 of farm 6 and parsonage, furnished 8 hints, it is said, for the rural10 economy 11 of the Vicar of Wakefield; and his father himself, with his learned 12

104

105

schleudern. zerschlagen, and
108
107 überlassen.
say, fell

103 Imperfect of mögen, Indic. say, and thus kick. 106 vorhergehen. in ruins. 109 Trümmer, only used in plural. 110 volksthümlich. "von. 112 ungefähr. 113 Verånderung. 114 in. 115 in Folge. 116 gelangen zu. 117 Oberpfarre, f. 118 aufgeben. 119 Koboldwohnung. 120 ziehen. 122 Landwirthschaft, m. 123 an. 124 Saum, m., sing. 125 Schau-plaß, m. 126 Kinderjahr, n. plural. 127 moraus. 128 sd dpfen. komisch. 131 rührend. 132 so reichlich zerstreut sein. 136 Einbildungskraft.

121 pachten.

129 ländlich.

130

133 sprechen. 134 beredt. 135 zu.
1 zuversichtlich. 2angeben.
"Meierei. Pfarre, f.
richtung. 12 gelehrt.

7

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liefern.

"Ein=

simplicity 13, his guileless 14 wisdom, his amiable piety, and utter15 ignorance 16 of the world, has been exquisitely 17 portrayed 18 in the worthy 19 Dr. Primrose. Let us pause 20 for a moment, and draw from Goldsmith's writings one or two of those pictures which, under feigned 21 names, represent 22 his father and his family, and the happy fireside23 of his childish days.24

"My father," says the man in black 25, who, in some respects 26, is a counterpart 27 of Goldsmith himself, My father, the younger son of a good family, was possessed of 28 a small living 29 in the church. His education was 30 above his fortune, and his generosity 31 greater than his education. Poor as he was, he had his flatterers 32 poorer than himself for every dinner he gave them, they returned 33 him an equivalent 34 in 35 praise; and this was all he wanted.36 His pleasure increased 37 in 38 proportion 39 to the pleasure he gave: he loved all the world, so he fancied 40 all the world loved him.

66

As his fortune was but small, he lived 41 up to the very extent of it: he had no intention 42 of leaving 43 his children money, for that was dross 44, he resolved they should have learning, for learning, he used 45 to observe 46, was better than silver and gold. For47 this purpose 48 he undertook 49 to instruct 50 us himself, and took 51 as much care 52 to form53 our morals54 as to improve 55 our understanding 56; 15 völlig. 16 Unkenntniß. 20 einhalten.

13 Einfachheit.

18 abschildern.

19

14 arglos.

würdig.

Kindertag, m.

28

23 Kreis, m. 24
27 Gegenstück, n.
muth, and add was.

35 an.

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21 erdichten.

17 portrefflich).

22 darstellen. 26 Hinsicht.

say, went.

31 Edel

34 4 Vergütung.

in the black dress.

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32 Schmeichler. 33 bezahlen.

36 wünschen. 37 sich vergrößern. 38 say, in the. 39 Verhältniß, n. 40 sich einbilden. 41. say, he spent every penny of it; to spend verzehren. 45 pflegen. 46 bemerken.

50 unterrichten. 51 tragen.

42 Absicht. 43 hinterlassen. 44 Schlacke, f. 49 18 Zweck, m. say, he undertook it. 53 bilden. 54 Sitte, f. 55 verbessern. 56 Verstand, but

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mark, you must say in German, to improve our morals, and to form our understanding.

N

and we were perfectly instructed 57 in the art 58 of giving away thousands before we were taught 59 the necessary 60 qualification 61 of getting 62 a farthing.63"

XIII. GOLDSMITH REJECTED BY THE BISHOP.2

6

Goldsmith to apply for3 accordingly before7 We have stated his obligation 12 to wear a

THE time was now arrived for orders, and he presented himself the Bishop of Elfin for ordination.8 objection 10 to clerical11 life, the black coat; and whimsical 13 as it may appear, dress 14 seems, in fact 15, to have formed 16 an obstacle 17 to his entrance 18 into the church. He had ever a passion 19 for 20 clothing his sturdy 21 but awkward 22 little person in gay 23 colours; and on 24 this solemn 25 occasion, when it was to be supposed 26 his garb 27 would be of suitable 28 gravity 29, he appeared luminously 30 arrayed 31 in scarlet 32 breeches. 33 He was rejected by the bishop; some say for 34 want 35 of 36 sufficient studious 37 preparation 38, his rambles 39 and frolics 40 having been 41 much in the way of 42 his theological 43 studies; others attribute44 his rejection 45 to reports 46 of47

57 unterweisen.

say, before we learned.

59 58 Kunst, from können.

62

60 nöthig. 61 Tüchtigkeit. 52 erwerben. 63 Heller, m.

1

I say, is rejected abweisen.

2 Bischof. 3 einkommen wegen. *priesterliche Bestallung. sich melden. demgemåß. 7 bei.

in order to obtain the same.

11 geistlich.

13 seltsam.

16 bilden.

6

9 erwähnen.
9

say,

10 Einwand gegen.

12 Verpflichtung; say, namely nåmlich before the. 14 Anzug, with the Definite Article. 15 in der That. 17 Hinderniß, n., gegen. 18 Eintritt. 19 Leidenschaft.

20 dafür, and express clothing with the Infinitive and zu. schwerfällig. 23 lebhaft. 24 bei. 25

22

to suppose vermuthen.

26 feierlich.

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30 glänzend. 31 schmücken.
34 wegen. 35 Mangel, m.
drung. 40 lustiger Streich frolic.
44zu'schreiben. 45 Abweisung.
say, his irregularities in college;

37

gelehrt.

[blocks in formation]

28 gehörig.

33 Beinkleid, n. (pl.—er). 38 Vorbereitung. 39 Wan41 stehen. 42 say, to. 43 theologisch. 46 Gerücht, n. (pl.—e). 47 von, and in college is auf der Universitåt.

his college irregularities 48, which the bishop had received from his old tyrant, Wilder; but those who look into the matter with more knowing 49 eyes, pronounce 50 the scarlet breeches to have been the fundamental 51 objection.52

XIV. GOLDSMITH'S LETTER TO1 HIS MOTHER.

My dear Mother,-If you will sit down2 and calmly listen to3 what I say, you shall be fully resolved in every one of those many questions you have asked me. I went to Cork, and converted my horse, which you prize9 so highly, into cash 10, took my passage11 in a ship bound 12 for America, and, at the same time, paid the captain for my freight 13, and all the other expenses 14 of my voyage; but it so happened 15, that the wind did not answer 16 for three weeks; and you know, mother, that I could not command 17 the elements.18 My misfortune was, that, when the wind served 19, I happened 20 to be with a party in the country, and my friend, the captain, never 21 enquired 22 after me, but set sail 23 with as 24 much 25 indifference 26 as if I had been on board.27 The remainder 28 of my time I employed 29 in the city and its environs 30, viewing 31 everything curious 32, and you know no one can starve 33 when he has

51

48 unregelmäßiges Leben, sing. 49 scharf. 50 erklären., eigentlic). 52 Einwurf.

5

Jan. 2 sich niedersehen. 3 hören auf. erhalten, lit., get complete answers. have addressed to me richten an.

Geld.

vollständige Antworten

auf. 6 Frage. 7 say, you

8 machen. 9 schåßen. 10 zu

11 Plak, m. 12 bestimmt sein to be bound. 13 Fracht, f.
15 sich treffen. 16 widrig sein.

14 Unkosten only used

17 gebieten, with Dat.

in plural.

18 Elemente.19 günstig werden.

20

an Adverb, gerade. 21 dura aus nicht. 22 Nachfrage thun.

29

27

express by

23 unter

Segel gehen. 24 eben so. 25 groß. 26 Gleichgültigkeit. am Bord. 28 übrige Theil. zubringen. 30 Umgebung, 31 sid) (Dat.) anschen. 'merkwürdig, say, that was curious. 3 vor Hunger steiben.

32

1

money in his pocket. Reduced 34, however, to 35 my last two guineas, I began to think of 36 my dear mother and friends whom I had left behind me; and so bought that generous 37 beast, Fiddle-back 38, and bade adieu to Cork with only five shillings in my pocket. This, to be sure 39, was but a scanty 40 allowance 41 for man and horse towards 42 a journey of above 43 a hundred miles; but I did not despair44, for I knew I must find friends on the road. I recollected 45, particularly 46, an old and faithful 47 acquaintance 48 I made at college, and who had often and earnestly 49 pressed 50 me to spend 51 a summer with him, and he lived but eight miles from Cork. The circumstance of vicinity 52 he would 53 expatiate to 54 me with peculiar 55 emphasis.56 "We shall," says he, " enjoy the delights 57 of both city and country, and you shall command 58 my stable and my purse."59 However, upon the way I met 60 a poor woman all 61 in tears, who told me her husband 62 had been arrested 63 for a debt64 he was not able to pay, and that his eight children must now starve, bereaved 65 as 66 they were of his industry, which had been their only support.67 I thought myself 68 at home, being not far from my friend's house, and therefore parted 69 with 70 a moiety 71 of all72 my store 73; and pray, Mother, ought I not to have given her the other half-crown, for what she got74 would be of little75 use 76 to her? However, I soon arrived at the

34

35

41

36 an.

37 edelmüthig. 38 Fiedel-rücken.

herunterbringen. auf. 39 allerdings. 40 dürftig. Summe. 42 für. 43 ungefähr. 44 ver= zweifeln. 45 sich erinnern, with Gen. 46 besonders. 47 treu. 49 say, friend whose acquaintance 1 made; Bekanntschaft acquaintance. 49 dringend. 50 einladen. 51 zubringen. 52 große Nähe, and say, concerning betreffend the vicinity. 53 pflegen. 54 sich weitläufig auslassen vor. eigenthümlich. 56 Nachdruck. 57 Freude. sein über. 59 Beutel, m. 60 treffen. 61 ganz. Gefängniß führen. 64 Schuld. 65 berauben. bereaved. 67 Stüße.

72

55

2say, my whole store.

76 Nuken, m.

68

say, that I was.

73 Vorrath.

62 Mann.

58 Herr

63 ins

66 say, as they were 69 scheiden. 70 von. 71 Hälfte.

74 erhalten.

75 gering.

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