plenty crown'd,

Where all the ruddy family around Laugh at the jefts or pranks that never fail,

Or figh with pity at fome mournful tale;

Or prefs the bashful ftranger to his food,

And learn the luxury of doing good. From Geneva Mr. Goldfmith and his pupil vifited the fouth of France, where the young man, upon some disagreement with his preceptor, paid him the small part of his falary which was due,and embarked at Marseilles for England. Our wanderer was left once more upon the world at large, and paffed through a variety of difficulties in traverfing the greatestpart of France. At length his curiofity being fatiated, he bent his courfe towards England, and arrived at Dover, the beginning of the winter, in the year 1758. When he came to London, his flock of cash, as he has often affured the writer of these anec

dotes, did not amount to two livres. An entire ftranger in this metropolis, his mind was filled with the moft gloomy reflections on his embarraffed fituation. With fome difficulty he discovered that part of the town in which his old acquaintance Dr. Sleigh refided. This gentleman received him with the warmest affection, and liberally invited him to fhare his purfe till fome establishment could be procured for him. Goldfmith, unwilling to be a burden to his friend,a fhort timeafter eagerly embraced an offer which was made him to affift the late Rev. Dr.Milner in inftru&ting the young gentlemen at the Academy at Peckham, and acquitted himself greatly to the doctor's fatiffaction for a fhort time; but, having obtained fome reputation by the criticisms he had written in the Monthly Review, Mr. Griffith, the proprietor, engaged him in the compilation of it; and, refolving to purfue the profeffion of writing, he returned to London, as the mart where abilities of every kind were fure of meeting distinction and reward, As his finances were by no means in a good state, he determined to adopt a plan of the ftricteft economy, and took lodgings in an obfcure court in the Old Bailey, where he wrote feveral ingenious little pieces. The late Mr. Newbery, who, at that time, gave great encouragement to men of literary abilities, became a kind of patron to our young author, and introduced him as one of the writers in the Public Ledger, in which his Citizen of the World originally appeared, under the title of Chinese Letters.'

66

lected. The fimplicity of his cha racter, the integrity of his heart, and the merit of his productions, made his company very acceptable to a number of refpectable families, and he emerged from his fhabby apartments in the Old Bailey, to the politer air of the Temple, where he took handfome chambers, and lived in a genteel ftyle. The publication of his Traveller, and his Vicar of Wakefield, was followed by the performance of his comedy of the Good-natured Man, at Covent-Garden theatre, and placed him in the first rank of the poets of the prefent age.

Among many other perfons of diftinction who were defirous to know him was the duke of Northumberland; and the circumftance that attended his introduction to that nobleman is worthy of being related, in order to fhew a ftriking trait of his character. "I was invited," faid the Doctor (as he was then univerfally called)" by my friend Mr. Piercy, to wait upon the duke, in confequence of the fatisfaction he had received from the perufal of one of my productions. Idreffed myself in the best manner I could, and after studying fome compliments I thought neceffary on fuch an occafion, proceeded to Northumberland-houfe, and acquainted the fervants that I had particular bufinefs with his grace. They fhewed me into an antichamber, where, after waiting fome time, a gentleman, very elegantly dreffed, made his appearance. Taking him for the duke, I delivered all the fine things I had compofed, in order to compliment him on the honour he had done me; when, to my great aftonishment, he told me, I had mistaken him for his

mafter, who would fee me imme diately. At that inftant, the duke came into the apartment; and I was fo confused on the occafion, that I wanted words, barely fufficient, to express the sense I entertained of the duke's politeness, and went away exceedingly chagrined at the blunder I had committed.”

Another feature in his character we cannot help laying before the reader. Previous to the publication of his Deferted Village, the bookfeller had given him a note for one hundred guineas for the copy, which the Doctor mentioned, a few hours after, to one of his friends, who obferved, it was a very great fum for fo fhort a performance. "In truth," replied Goldfmith, "I think fo too; I have not been eafy fince I received it; therefore, I will go back, and return him his note;" which he absolutely did, and left it entirely to the bookfeller to pay him according to the profits produced by the fale of the piece, which turned out very confiderable.

During the laft rehearsal of his comedy, intitled, She ftoops to Conquer, which Mr. Colman had no opinion would fucceed, on the Doctor's objecting to the repetition of one of Tony Lumpkin's fpeeches, being apprehenfive it might injure the play, the manager with great keennefs replied, "Pfha, my dear Doctor, do not be fearful of squibs, when we have been fitting almot thefe two hours upon a barrel of gun-powder." The piece, how. ever, contrary to Mr. Colman's expectation, was received with uncommon applause by the audience; and Goldfmith's pride was fo hurt by the feverity of the above obfervation, that it entirely put an end

to

to his friendship for the gentleman that made it.

Notwithstanding the great fuccefs of his pieces, by fome of which it is afferted, upon good authority, he cleared 1800l. in one year, his circumstances were by no means in a profperous fituation; which was partly owing to the liberality of his difpofition, and partly to an unfortunate habit he had contracted of gaming, the arts of which he knew very little of, and, confequently became the prey of those who were unprincipled enough to take advantage of his fimplicity.

Just before his death he had formed a defign for executing an Univerfal Dictionary of arts and fciences, the profpectus of which he actually published. In this work feveral of his literary friends (particularly Sir Joshua Reynolds, Dr. Johnfon, Mr. Beauclerc, and Mr. Garrick) had undertaken to furnish him with articles upon different fub jects. He had entertained the most fanguine expectations from the fuccefs of it. The undertaking, however, did not meet with that encou ragement from the book fellers which he had imagined it would undoubt. edly receive; and he used to lament this circumftance almoft to the laft hour of his existence.

He had been for fome years af. flicted, at different times, with a violent ftrangery; which contributed not a little to imbitter the latter part of his life; and which, united with the vexations which he fuf. fered upon other occafions, brought on a kind of habitual defpondency.

In this unhappy condition he was attacked by a nervous fever, which, being improperly treated, termi. nated in his diffolution on the 4th day of April, 1774. His friends,

VOL. XVII.

who were very numerous and refpectable, had determined to bury him in Weftminster-Abbey, where a tablet was to have been erected to his memory. It is faid, his pall was to have been fupported by Lord Shelbourne, Lord Louth, Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Hon. Mr. Beauclerc, Mr. Edmund Burke, and Mr. Gar rick; but, from fome unaccountable circumstances, this defign was dropped, and his remains were privately depofited in the Temple burial ground.

As to his character, it is ftrongly illuftrated by Mr. Pope's line, In wit a man, fimplicity a child.

The learned leifure he loved to

enjoy was too often interrupted by diftreffes which arofe from the li berality of his temper, and which

fometimes threw him into loud fits

of paffion; but this impetuofity was corrected upon a moment's re flection, and his fervants have been known, upon these occafions, purpofely to throw themselves in his way, that they might profit by it immediately after; for he who had the good fortune to be reproved was certain of being rewarded for it. The univerfal esteem in which his poems were held, and the repeated pleasure they give in the perufal, is a striking teft of their me

rit. He was a ftudious and correct obferver of nature, happy in the felection of his images, in the choice of his fubjects, and in the harmony of his verfification; and, though his embarraffed fituation prevented him from putting the jaft hand to many of his productions, his Hermit, his Traveller, and his Deferted Village, bid fair to claim a place among the most finished pisces in the English language.

D

The

The writer of thefe anecdotes cannot conclude without declaring, that as different accounts have been given of this ingenious man, thefe are all founded upon facts, and collected by one who lived with him upon the most friendly footing for a great number of years, and who never felt any forrow more fenfibly than that which was occafioned by his death:

Ille dies-quem femper acerbum Semper honoratum (fic Di voluiftis)

A

habebo.

LL the remainder of his life after this August 22, 1642, was a meer labyrinth of forrow, a continued and daily misfortune, unto which it seems providence had ordained him from the very entrance of his reign. His wars are wrote by feveral learned hands, unto whom I refer the reader. I fhall only repeat a few more things of him, and then conclude. Favourites he had three; Buckingham ftabbed to death; William Laud, and Thomas Earl of Strafford, both beheaded. Bishops and clergymen, whom he moft favoured, and wholly advanced, and occafionally ruined, he lived to fee their bishopricks fold, the bishops themselves fcorned, and all the whole clergy of his party and opinion quite undone.

The English noblemen he cared not much for, but only to ferve his own turns by them: yet fuch as had the unhappiness to adventure their lives and fortunes for him, he lived to fee them and their families ruined, only for his fake. Pity it is

many of them had not ferved a more fortunate mafter, and one more. grateful.

The Scots, his countrymen, on whom he bestowed so many favours, he lived to fee them in arms against himself; to fell him for more money than the Jews did Christ, and themselves to be handfomely routed, and fold for knaves and flaves. They made their best market of him at all times, changing their affection with his fortune.

The old prince of Orange he almoft beggared, and yet to no pur. pofe, the parliament one time or other getting all arms and ammunition which ever came over unto him. It is confidently averred, if the king had become abfolute here in England, Orange had been king, &c.

The city of London, which he had fo fore oppreffed and flighted, he lived to fee thousands of them in arms against him; and they to thrive, and himself confume unto nothing. The parliament, which he fo abhorred, and formerly icorned, he lived to know was fuperior unto him; and the fcorns and flights he had used formerly to Elliot and others, he faw now returned upon himself in folio.

With Spain he had no perfect correfpondency, fince his being there; lefs after he suffered their fleet to perish in his havens; leaft of all, after he received an ambaffador from Portugal; the Spaniard ever upbraiding him with falfhood, and breach of promife. Indeed, the nativities of both kings were very contrary.

With France he had no good amity; the protestants there abhorring his legerdemain and treachery unto Rochelle; the Papifts as little loving or trufting him, for fome

hard

hard measure offered unto thofe of their religion in England. He cunningly would labour to please all, but in effect gave fatisfaction to

none.

Denmark could not endure him; fent him little or no affiftance, if any at all; befides, the old king fufpected another matter, and made a query in his drink.

The Swede extremely complained of him for non-performance of fome fecret contract betwixt them, and uttered high words against

him.

The proteftant princes of Germany loathed his very name, &c.

The Portugal king and he had little to do; yet in one of his own letters to the queen, though he acknowledges the Portugal's courtesy unto him, yet faith, that he would give him an answer unto a thing of concernment that should fignify nothing.

The Hollanders being only courteous for their own ends, and as far as his money would extend, furnifhed him with arms at fuch rates as a Turk might have had them elsewhere; but they neither loved or cared for him in his profperity, or pitied him in his adverfity, which occafioned thefe words to drop from him, If he ere came to his throne, he would make Hans • Butter-box know, he fhould pay 'well for his fifhing, and fatisfy for old knaveries,' &c.

In conclufion. He was generally unfortunate in the world, in the esteem both of friends and enemies: his friends exclaim on his breach of

faith; his enemies would fay, he could never be faft enough bound. He was more lamented as he was a king, than for any affection had unto his perfon as a man.

He had feveral opportunities offered him for his reftoring. Firft, by feveral treaties, all ending in fmoke, by his own perverseness. By feveral opportunities and victories which he profecuted not. First, when Bristol was cowardly furrendered by Fines: had he then come unto London all had been his own; but loitering to no purpose at Gloucefter, he was prefently after well banged by Effex.

When in the weft, viz. Cornwall, he worsted Effex: had he then immediately hafted to London, his army had been without doubt mafters of that city; for Manchester was none of his enemy at that time, though he was general of the affociated counties.

Or had he, ere the Scots came into England, commanded Newcaftle to have marched fouthward for London, he could not have miffed obtaining the city, and then the work had been ended.

Or when in 1645, he had taken Leicester, if then he had speedily marched for London, I know not who could have refifted him but his camp was fo overcharged with plunder and Irish whores, there was no marching.

:

Amongst many of his misfortunes, this I relate was not the leaft: viz. when the parliament last time were to fend him propofitions unto the isle of Wight, he had advice, &c. that the only way, and that there was no other means remaining upon earth to make himfelf happy, and fettle a firm peace betwixt himself and parliament, and to bring him out of thraldom, but by receiving our commiffioners civilly; to fign whatever propofitions they brought; and above all to make hafte to London, and to do