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should take into account the circumstances under again." A similar impression, or something anawhich they were written:-when he was obscure logous to it, is felt by every reader of the poetry and friendless, oppressed with want, sick of the of Goldsmith. His course has been through a rich past, and almost despairing of the future. The and highly cultivated country, where sweet fruits language of his prose works, in general, is admitted and fragrant flowers regaled his senses at every step; to be a model of perfection. His very enemies used to acknowledge the superiority of his taste in composition, and the unrivalled excellence of his style. It was not without reason, therefore, that Johnson at one time exclaimed, "Where is there now a man who can pen an essay with such ease and elegance as Goldsmith?"

where every object that he passed was blooming in beauty, and pregnant with interest; and where he himself never for a moment felt any intermission of enjoyment.

From the characteristics of the poet we turn to the qualities of the man. Goldsmith was mild and gentle in his manners, warm in his friendships, In poetry Goldsmith confessedly shines with and active in his charity and benevolence. So great lustre. But, viewing him as a scholar, it is strongly did he use to be affected by compassion, surprising how little of his imagery is drawn from that he has been known at midnight to abandon reminiscences of the classics. His verses are ut- his rest in order to procure relief and an asylum terly void of the machinery of ancient polytheism, for a poor dying object who was left destitute in and scarcely a single mythological person is ever the streets. The humanity of his disposition was invoked by him. In truth, he seems to have had manifested on every occasion that called for its exno partiality for the family of gods, goddesses, and ercise; and so large was his liberality, that his last demi-gods, and to have discarded as useless the guinea was the general boundary of his munifiwhole race of fauns, satyrs, dryads, and hamadry-cence. He had two or three poor authors always ads. He is one of those who seek to please chiefly as pensioners, besides several widows and poor by an exhibition of nature in her simplest and housekeepers; and when he happened to have no most familiar views. From these he selects his money to give the latter, he sent them away with objects with equal taste and discretion; and in no shirts or old clothes, and sometimes with the coninstance does he ever represent what would excite tents of his breakfast table, saying, with a smile of disgust, or cause pain. In the poetry of Goldsmith satisfaction after they were gone, "Now let me there is nothing that strikes us as merely ideal. suppose I have eaten a heartier breakfast than Every thing is clear, distinct, and palpable. His usual, and I am nothing out of pocket." His gevery imagery is tangible. He draws it from ob-nerosity, it is true, used often to be carried to exjects that act at once upon the senses, and the cess. He gave frequently on the mere impulse of reader is never for a moment at a loss to discover the moment, and without discrimination. If the its application. It is this that makes Goldsmith so applicants for his bounty were poor and friendless, easily understood, and so generally admired. His it was all that he asked to know. Like his own poetical landscapes and portraits are so many tran- village pastor, he overflowed with benevolence, and scripts from living nature; while every image, every "Careless their merits or their faults to scan, thought, and every sentiment connected with them, His pity gave ere charity began." have a corresponding expression of unaffected truth This profuse and undistinguishing liberality has and simplicity. It was said of him by Mr. Bos- sometimes been imputed to him as a fault; but it well, that "his mind resembled a fertile but thin at least attested the excellence of his intentions soil; there was a quick, but not a strong vegetation and the kindness of his heart. The humanity and of whatever chanced to be thrown upon it. No benevolence, however, that characterised the poet's deep root could be struck. The oak of the forest disposition, were unhappily contaminated by a did not grow there; but the elegant shrubbery, jealousy of the attainments and the reputation of and the fragrant parterre, appeared in gay suc-others. He was feelingly conscious of this failing, cession." This is a poetical description, and, with and often used to complain of the uneasiness it cost Bome limitation, may be admitted as an approach him. In the minds of those who heard him on to the truth. The characteristics of Goldsmith's such occasions, all sense of the evil passion was poetry are ease, softness, and beauty. He can be lost in their amusement at the novelty and simplicommended for the elegance of his imagery, the city of his confessions. Vanity was another of the depth of his pathos and the flow of his numbers. weaknesses of Goldsmith; but it was rather amusHe is uniformly tender and impressive, but rarely ing than offensive in its operation. He was vain sublime. The commendation which he himself of his literary consequence, as was strongly discohas bestowed on the poetry of Parnell may justly vered in the complaint he once made with regard be applied to his own. "At the end of his course," to Lord Camden.-"I met him," said he, "at says he, "the reader regrets that his way has been Lord Clare's house in the country, and he took no so short; he wonders that it gave him so little more notice of me than if I had been an ordinary trouble; and so resolves to go the journey over man.”

coat.

He had also the foible of being ambitious of eminent talent is united to spotless virtue, we are shining in such exterior accomplishments as nature awed and dazzled into admiration, but our admirahad denied him. This was whimsically illustrated tion is apt to be cold; while there is something in on one occasion, when he arrayed himself in a the harmless infirmities of poor human nature that bloom-coloured coat, and sported his ungainly pleads touchingly to the feelings, and the heart figure, with great self-complacency, in the sunshine yearns towards the object of our admiration, when in the Temple gardens. He declared to his friends, we find that, like ourselves, he is mortal, and is that his tailor was so confident of the impression frail. The epithet so often heard, and in such he should make, that he had entreated him to in-kindly tones, of "poor Goldsmith," speaks volumes. form all inquirers of the name of the maker of the Few, who consider the rich compound of admirable and whimsical qualities which form his characSuch is the amount of information which we ter, would wish to prune away its eccentricities, have procured concerning Goldsmith; and we have trim its grotesque luxuriance, and clip it down to given it almost precisely in the words in which we the decent formalities of rigid virtue. "Let not found it. From the general tenor of his biography, his frailties be remembered," said Johnson, "he it is evident that Goldsmith was one whose faults was a very great man." But, for our parts, we were at the worst but negative, not positive vices, rather say, "let them be remembered;" for we while his merits were great and decided. He was question whether he himself would not feel gratino one's enemy but his own, his errors inflicted fied in hearing his reader, after dwelling with adevil on none but himself, and were so blended with miration on the proofs of his greatness, close the humorous, and even affecting circumstances, as to volume with the kind hearted phrase, so fondly and disarm anger and conciliate kindness. Where familiarly ejaculated, of "POOR GOLDSMITH."

THE MISCELLANEOUS WORKS

OF

OLIVER GOLDSMITH.

The Vicar of Wakefield.

ADVERTISEMENT.

THERE are a hundred faults in this thing, and a hundred things might be said to prove them beauties. But it is needless. A book may be amusing with numerous errors, or it may be very dull without a single absurdity. The hero of this piece unites in himself the three greatest characters upon earth. He is a priest, a husbandman, and the father of a family. He is drawn as ready to teach, and ready to obey; as simple in affluence, and majestic in adversity. In this age of opulence and refinement, whom can such a character please? Such as are fond of high life, will turn with disdain from the simplicity of his country fire-side. Such as mistake ribaldry for humour, will find no wit in his harmless conversation; and such as have been taught to deride religion, will laugh at one whose chief stores of comfort are drawn from futurity. OLIVER GOLDSMITH.

CHAPTER I.

lent contriver in housekeeping; though I could never find that we grew richer with all her contrivances.

However, we loved each other tenderly, and our fondness increased as we grew old. There was, in fact, nothing that could make us angry with the world or each other. We had an elegant house situated in a fine country, and a good neighbourhood. The year was spent in moral or rural amusements, in visiting our rich neighbours, and relieving such as were poor. We had no revolutions to fear, nor fatigues to undergo; all our adventures were by the fire-side, and all our migrations from the blue bed to the brown.

As we lived near the road, we often had the wine, for which we had great reputation; and I traveller or stranger visit us to taste our gooseberry profess with the veracity of an historian, that I never knew one of them find fault with it. Our cousins too, even to the fortieth remove, all remembered their affinity, without any help from the herald's office, and came very frequently to see us. Some of them did us no great honour by these

The description of the family of Wakefield, in which a kin-claims of kindred; as we had the blind, the maim dred likeness prevails, as well of minds as of persons. ed, and the halt amongst the number. However, I was ever of opinion, that the honest man who my wife always insisted, that as they were the married and brought up a large family, did more same flesh and blood, they she ld sit with us at service than he who continued single and only the same table. So that if we had not very rich, talked of a population. From this motive, I had we generally had very happy friends about us; for scarcely taken orders a year, before I began to think this remark will hold good through life, that the seriously of matrimony, and chose my wife, as she poorer the guest, the better pleased he ever is with did her wedding-gown, not for a fine glossy sur-being treated: and as some men gaze with admiraface, but for such qualities as would wear well. tion at the colours of a tulip, or the wings of a butTo do her justice, she was a good-natured notable terfly, so I was by nature an admirer of happy huwoman; and as for breeding, there were few coun-man faces. However, when any one of our relatry ladies who could show more. She could read tions was found to be a person of very bad characany English book without much spelling; but for ter, a troublesome guest, or one we desired to get pickling, preserving, and cookery, none could excel rid of, upon his leaving my house, I ever took care her. She prided herself also upon being an excel-to lend him a riding-coat, or a pair of boots or

sometimes a horse of small value, and I always mention it, had it not been a general topic of had the satisfaction of finding he never came back conversation in the country. Olivia, now about to return them. By this the house was cleared of eighteen, had that luxuriancy of beauty, with which such as we did not like; but never was the family painters generally draw Hebe; open, sprightly, of WAKEFIELD known to turn the traveller or the and commanding. Sophia's features were not so poor dependent out of doors. striking at first, but often did more certain execuThus we lived several years in a state of much tion; for they were soft, modest and alluring. The happiness, not but that we sometimes had those one vanquished by a single blow, the other by little rubs which Providence sends to enhance the efforts successfully repeated.

value of its favours. My orchard was often robbed by school boys, and my wife's custards plundered by the cats or the children. The 'Squire would sometimes fall asleep in the most pathetic parts of my sermon, or his lady return my wife's civilities at church with a mutilated courtesy. But we soon pressed excellence from her fears to offend. The got over the uneasiness caused by such accidents, and usually in three or four days began to wonder how they vexed us.

The temper of a woman is generally formed from the turn of her features, at least it was so with my daughters. Olivia wished for many lovers, Sophia to secure one. Olivia was often affected from too great a desire to please. Sophia even re

needless to attempt describing the particular characters of young people that had seen but very little of the world. In short a family likeness prevailed through all, and properly speaking, they had but one character, that of being all equally generous, credulous, simple, and inoffensive.

one entertained me with her vivacity when I was gay, the other with her sense when I was serious. But these qualities were never carried to excess in My children, the offspring of temperance, as either, and I have often seen them exchange chathey were educated without softness, so they were racters, for a whole day together. A suit of mournat once well formed and healthy; my sons hardy ing has transformed my coquette into a prude, and and active, my daughters beautiful and blooming. a new set of ribands has given her younger sister When I stood in the midst of the little circle, which more than natural vivacity. My eldest son George promised to be the supports of my declining age, was bred at Oxford, as I intended him for one I could not avoid repeating the famous story of of the learned professions. My second boy Moses, Count Abensberg, who in Henry Second's progress whom I designed for business, received a sort through Germany, while other courtiers came with of miscellaneous education at home. But it is their treasures, brought his thirty-two children, and presented them to his sovereign as the most valuable offering he had to bestow. In this manner, though I had but six, I considered them as a very valuable present made to my country, and consequently looked upon it as my debtor. Our eldest son was named GEORGE, after his uncle, who left us ten thousand pounds. Our second child, a girl, I intended to call after her aunt Grissel; but my wife, who during her pregnancy had been reading romances, insisted upon her being called OLIVIA. Family Misfortunes.-The loss of fortune only serves to inIn less than another year we had another daughter, and now I was determined that Grissel should be THE temporal concerns of our family were chiefly her name; but a rich relation taking a fancy to committed to my wife's management; as to the spistand godmother, the girl was, by her directions, ritual, I took them entirely under my own direction. called SOPHIA; so that we had two romantic names The profits of my living, which amounted to but in the family; but I solemnly protest I had no thirty-five pounds a year, I made over to the orhand in it. MOSES was our next, and after an in-phans and widows of the clergy of our diocese: terval of twelve years we had two sons more. for having a fortune of my own, I was careless of

CHAPTER II.

crease the pride of the worthy.

It would be fruitless to deny exultation when I temporalities, and felt a secret pleasure in doing saw my little ones about me; but the vanity and my duty without reward. I also set a resolution the satisfaction of my wife were even greater than of keeping no curate, and of being acquainted with mine. When our visiters would say, "Well, upon every man in the parish, exhorting the married my word, Mrs. Primrose, you have the finest chil-men to temperance, and the bachelors to matrimodren in the whole country;"-"Ay, neighbour," ny; so that in a few years it was a common saying, she would answer, "they are as Heaven made them, that there were three strange wants at Wakefield, handsome enough if they be good enough; for a parson wanting pride, young men wanting wives, handsome is that handsome does." And then she and ale-houses wanting customers. would bid the girls hold up their heads; who, to Matrimony was always one of my favourite conceal nothing, were certainly very handsome. topics, and I wrote several sermons to prove its Mere outside is so very trifling a circumstance with happiness: but there was a peculiar tenet which I me, that I should scarcely have remembered to made a point of supporting; for I maintained with

Whiston, that it was unlawful for a priest of the moved; and sometimes, with the music master's church of England, after the death of his first assistance, the girls would give us a very agreeable wife, to take a second; or to express it in one word, concert. Walking out, drinking tea, country dances, I valued myself upon being a strict monogamist. and forfeits, shortened the rest of the day, without I was early initiated into this important dispute, the assistance of cards, as I hated all manner of on which so many laborious volumes have been gaming, except backgammon, at which my old written. I published some tracts upon the sub-friend and I sometimes took a two-penny hit. Nor ject myself, which, as they never sold, I have the can I here pass over an ominous circumstance that consolation of thinking were read only by the hap-happened the last time we played together; I only py few. Some of my friends called this my weak wanted to fling a quatre, and yet I threw deuce side; but alas! they had not like me made it the ace five times running. subject of long contemplation. The more I re- Some months were elapsed in this manner, till flected upon it, the more important it appeared. I at last it was thought convenient to fix a day for the even went a step beyond Whiston in displaying my nuptials of the young couple, who seemed earnestprinciples: as he had engraven upon his wife's ly to desire it. During the preparations for the tomb that she was the only wife of William Whis-wedding, I need not describe the busy importance ton; so I wrote a similar epitaph for my wife, of my wife, nor the sly looks of my daughters: though still living, in which I extolled her pru- in fact, my attention was fixed on another object, dence, economy, and obedience till death; and hav- the completing a tract which I intended shortly to ing got it copied fair, with an elegant frame, it publish in defence of my favourite principle. As was placed over the chimney-piece, where it an- I looked upon this as a master-piece, both for arswered several very useful purposes. In admon-gument and style, I could not in the pride of my ishing my wife of her duty to me, and my fidelity heart avoid showing it to my old friend Mr. Wilto her; it inspired her with a passion for fame, and mot, as I made no doubt of receiving his approbaconstantly put her in mind of her end. tion; but not till too late I discovered that he was It was thus, perhaps, from hearing marriage so most violently attached to the contrary opinion, often recommended, that my eldest son, just upon and with good reason; for he was at that time acleaving college, fixed his affections upon the daugh- tually courting a fourth wife. This as may be exter of a neighbouring clergyman, who was a digni- pected, produced a dispute attended with some acritary in the church, and in circumstances to give mony, which threatened to interrupt our intended her a large fortune. But fortune was her smallest alliance: but the day before that appointed for the accomplishment. Miss ARABELLA WILMOT was ceremony, we agreed to discuss the subject at large. allowed by all (except my two daughters) to It was managed with proper spirit on both be completely pretty. Her youth, health and in-sides: he asserted that I was heterodox, I retorted nocence, were still heightened by a complexion the charge; he replied and I rejoined. In the so transparent, and such a happy sensibility of mean time, while the controversy was hottest, I was look, as even age could not gaze on with in- called out by one of my relations, who with a face difference. As Mr. Wilmot knew that I could of concern, advised me to give up the dispute, at make a very handsome settlement on my son, he least till my son's wedding was over. "How!" was not averse to the match; so both families lived cried I, relinquish the cause of truth, and let him together in all that harmony which generally pre- be a husband, already driven to the very verge of cedes an expected alliance. Being convinced by absurdity. You might as well advise me to give experience that the days of courtship are the up my fortune as my argument." "Your formost happy of our lives, I was willing enough tune," returned my friend, "I am now sorry to into lengthen the period; and the various amuse- form you is almost nothing. The merchant in ments which the young couple every day shared in town, in whose hands your money was lodged, has each other's company seemed to increase their pas-gone off to avoid a statute of bankruptcy, and is sion. We were generally awaked in the morning thought not to have left a shilling in the pound. by music, and on fine days rode a hunting. The I was unwilling to shock you or the family with hours between breakfast and dinner the ladies de- the account until after the wedding: but now it voted to dress and study: they usually read a page, may serve to moderate your warmth in the arguand then gazed at themselves in the glass, which ment; for, I suppose your own prudence will enforce even philosophers might own often presented the the necessity of dissembling, at least till your son page of greatest beauty. At dinner my wife took has the young lady's fortune secure."-"Well," the lead; for as she always insisted upon carving returned I, "if what you tell me be true, and if I every thing herself, it being her mother's way, she am to be a beggar, it shall never make me a rascal, gave us upon these occasions the history of every or induce me to disavow my principles. I'll go this dish. When we had dined, to prevent the ladies moment and inform the company of my circumleaving us, I generally ordered the table to be re-stances: and as for the argument, I even here re

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