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diff --git a/old/2015-04-15-3545-8.zip b/old/2015-04-15-3545-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0bc2b87 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/2015-04-15-3545-8.zip diff --git a/old/2015-04-15-35453545-h.zip b/old/2015-04-15-35453545-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..09dcc4b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/2015-04-15-35453545-h.zip diff --git a/old/cpwog10.txt b/old/cpwog10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..30b402b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/cpwog10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11869 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Etext The Complete Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith +Edited by Austin Dobson + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.05/20/01*END* +[Portions of this header are copyright (C) 2001 by Michael S. Hart +and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] +[Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales +of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or +software or any other related product without express permission.] + + + + + +Prepared by Amy E Zelmer <a.zelmer@cqu.edu.au> +Barb Grow +and Derek Thompson <drthom@ihug.co.nz> + + + + + + + + +THE COMPLETE + +POETICAL WORKS +OF +OLIVER GOLDSMITH + +'EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES' + +BY + +AUSTIN DOBSON +HON. LL.D. EDIN. + + + + +PREFATORY NOTE + +THIS volume is a reprint, extended and revised, of the 'Selected Poems' +of Goldsmith issued by the Clarendon Press in 1887. It is 'extended,' +because it now contains the whole of Goldsmith's poetry: it is 'revised' +because, besides the supplementary text, a good deal has been added in +the way of annotation and illustration. In other words, the book has +been substantially enlarged. Of the new editorial material, the bulk has +been collected at odd times during the last twenty years; but fresh +Goldsmith facts are growing rare. I hope I have acknowledged obligation +wherever it has been incurred; I trust also, for the sake of those who +come after me, that something of my own will be found to have been +contributed to the literature of the subject. + + AUSTIN DOBSON. + + +CONTENTS +Introduction +Chronology of Goldsmith's Life and Poems + +POEMS +The Traveller; or, A Prospect of Society +The Deserted Village +Prologue of Laberius +On a Beautiful Youth struck Blind with Lightning +The Gift. To Iris, in Bow Street +The Logicians Refuted +A Sonnet +Stanzas on the Taking of Quebec +An Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize +Description of an Author's Bedchamber +On seeing Mrs. *** perform in the Character of **** +On the Death of the Right Hon.*** +An Epigram. Addressed to the Gentlemen reflected on + in 'The Rosciad', a Poem, by the Author +To G. C. and R. L +Translation of a South American Ode +The Double Transformation. A Tale +A New Simile, in the Manner of Swift +Edwin and Angelina +Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog +Song ('When Lovely Woman,' &c.) +Epilogue to 'The Good Natur'd Man' +Epilogue to 'The Sister' +Prologue to 'Zobeide' +Threnodia Augustalis: Sacred to the Memory of Her + Late Royal Highness the Princess Dowager + of Wales +Song ('Let School-masters,' &c.) +Epilogue to 'She Stoops to Conquer' +Retaliation +Song ('Ah, me! when shall I marry me?') +Translation ('Chaste are their instincts') +The Haunch of Venison +Epitaph on Thomas Parnell +The Clown's Reply +Epitaph on Edward Purdon +Epilogue for Lee Lewes +Epilogue written for 'She Stoops to Conquer' (1) +Epilogue written for 'She Stoops to Conquer' (2) +The Captivity. An Oratorio +Verses in Reply to an Invitation to Dinner +Letter in Prose and Verse to Mrs. Bunbury +Vida's Game of Chess + +NOTES + +Introduction to the Notes +Editions of the Poems +The Traveller +The Deserted Village +Prologue of Laberius +On a Beautiful Youth struck Blind with Lightning +The Gift +The Logicians Refuted +A Sonnet +Stanzas on the Taking of Quebec +An Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize +Description of an Author's Bedchamber +On seeing Mrs. *** perform in the Character of **** +On the Death of the Right Hon.*** +An Epigram +To G. C. and R. L. +Translation of a South American Ode +The Double Transformation +A New Simile +Edwin and Angelina +Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog +Song (from 'The Vicar of Wakefield') +Epilogue ('The Good Natur'd Man') +Epilogue ('The Sister') +Prologue ('Zobeide') +Threnodia Augustalis +Song (from 'She Stoops to Conquer') +Epilogue ('She Stoops to Conquer') +Retaliation +Song intended for 'She Stoops to Conquer' +Translation +The Haunch of Venison +Epitaph on Thomas Parnell +The Clown's Reply +Epitaph on Edward Purdon +Epilogue for Lee Lewes's Benefit +Epilogue ('She Stoops to Conquer') (1) +Epilogue ('She Stoops to Conquer') (2) +The Captivity +Verses in Reply to an Invitation to Dinner +Letter in Prose and Verse to Mrs. Bunbury +Vida's Game of Chess + +APPENDIXES + +Portraits of Goldsmith +Descriptions of Newell's Views of Lissoy, &c +The Epithet 'Sentimental' +Fragments of Translations, &c., by Goldsmith +Goldsmith on Poetry under Anne and George the First +Criticisms from Goldsmith's + 'Beauties of English Poesy' + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +OLIVER GOLDSMITH. From Joseph Marchi's mezzotint of 1770 + after the portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds. . . . . . Frontispiece. +PANE OF GLASS with Goldsmith's autograph signature, dated + March, 1746, now at Trinity College, Dublin. . . . . To face p. xi +VIGNETTE TO THE TRAVELLER. Drawn by Samuel Wale, and + engraved by Charles Grignion . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 3 +HEADPIECE TO THE TRAVELLER. Engraved on wood by Charlton + Nesbit for Bulmer's 'Poems of Goldsmith and + Parnell', 1795 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 5 +THE TRAVELLER. From a design by Richard Westall, R. A., + engraved on wood by Thomas Bewick for Bulmer's + 'Poems of Goldsmith and Parnell', 1795 . . . . . . . To face p. 8 +VIGNETTE TO THE DESERTED VILLAGE, 1770. Drawn and + engraved by Isaac Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 21 +HEADPIECE TO THE DESERTED VILLAGE. Engraved on wood + by Charlton Nesbit for Bulmer's 'Poems of + Goldsmith and Parnell', 1795 . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 23 +THE WATER-CRESS GATHERER. Drawn and engraved on wood + by John Bewick for Bulmer's 'Poems of Goldsmith and + Parnell', 1795 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 27 +THE DEPARTURE. Drawn by Robert Johnson, and engraved + on wood by Thomas Bewick for Bulmer's 'Poems of + Goldsmith and Parnell', 1795 . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 35 +EDWIN AND ANGELINA. From an original washed drawing + made by Thomas Stothard, R.A., for Aikin's + 'Goldsmith's Poetical Works', 1805 . . . . . . . . . To face p. 59 +PORTRAIT OF GOLDSMITH, after Sir Joshua Reynolds. From + an etching by James Basire on the title-page + of 'Retaliation', 1774 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 87 +SONG FROM THE CAPTIVITY. Facsimile of Goldsmith's + writing and signature, from Prior's 'Life of + Oliver Goldsmith, M.B.', 1837, ii, frontispiece. . . To face p. 119 +GREEN ARBOUR COURT, OLD BAILEY. From an engraving in + the 'European Magazine' for January, 1803. . . . . . To face p. 160 +KILKENNY WEST CHURCH. From an aquatint by S. Alken of + a sketch by R. H. Newell ('Goldsmith's Poetical + Works', 1811). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 179 +HAWTHORN TREE. From the same . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 180 +SOUTH VIEW FROM GOLDSMITH'S MOUNT. From the same . . . . To face p. 183 +THE SCHOOL HOUSE. From the same . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 187 +PORTRAIT OF GOLDSMITH. Drawn by Henry William Bunbury + and etched by James Bretherton. From the + 'Haunch of Venison', 1776. . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 259 +PORTRAIT OF GOLDSMITH. From a silhouette by Ozias + Humphry, R.A., in the National Portrait Gallery. . . To face p. 261 +LISSOY (OR LISHOY) MILL. From an aquatint by S. Alken + of a sketch by R. H. Newell ('Goldsmith's + Poetical Works', 1811) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 262 +THE PARSONAGE. From the same . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face p. 264 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +Two of the earlier, and, in some respects, more important 'Memoirs' of +Oliver Goldsmith open with a quotation from one of his minor works, in +which he refers to the generally uneventful life of the scholar. His own +chequered career was a notable exception to this rule. He was born on +the 10th of November, 1728, at Pallas, a village in the county of +Longford in Ireland, his father, the Rev. Charles Goldsmith, being a +clergyman of the Established Church. Oliver was the fifth of a family of +five sons and three daughters. In 1730, his father, who had been +assisting the rector of the neighbouring parish of Kilkenny West, +succeeded to that living, and moved to Lissoy, a hamlet in Westmeath, +lying a little to the right of the road from Ballymahon to Athlone. +Educated first by a humble relative named Elizabeth Delap, the boy +passed subsequently to the care of Thomas Byrne, the village +schoolmaster, an old soldier who had fought Queen Anne's battles in +Spain, and had retained from those experiences a wandering and unsettled +spirit, which he is thought to have communicated to one at least of his +pupils. After an attack of confluent small-pox, which scarred him for +life, Oliver was transferred from the care of this not-uncongenial +preceptor to a school at Elphin. From Elphin he passed to Athlone; from +Athlone to Edgeworthstown, where he remained until he was thirteen or +fourteen years of age. The accounts of these early days are +contradictory. By his schoolfellows he seems to have been regarded as +stupid and heavy,--'little better than a fool'; but they admitted that +he was remarkably active and athletic, and that he was an adept in all +boyish sports. At home, notwithstanding a variable disposition, and +occasional fits of depression, he showed to greater advantage. He +scribbled verses early; and sometimes startled those about him by +unexpected 'swallow-flights' of repartee. One of these, an oft-quoted +retort to a musical friend who had likened his awkward antics in a +hornpipe to the dancing of Aesop,-- + + Heralds! proclaim aloud! all saying, + See 'Aesop' dancing, and his 'monkey' playing,-- + +reads more like a happily-adapted recollection than the actual impromptu +of a boy of nine. But another, in which, after a painful silence, he +replied to the brutal enquiry of a ne'er-do-well relative as to when he +meant to grow handsome, by saying that he would do so when the speaker +grew good,--is characteristic of the easily-wounded spirit and +'exquisite sensibility of contempt' with which he was to enter upon the +battle of life. + +In June, 1744, after anticipating in his own person, the plot of his +later play of 'She Stoops to Conquer' by mistaking the house of a +gentleman at Ardagh for an inn, he was sent to Trinity College, Dublin. +The special dress and semi-menial footing of a sizar or poor +scholar--for his father, impoverished by the imprudent portioning of his +eldest daughter, could not afford to make him a pensioner--were scarcely +calculated to modify his personal peculiarities. Added to these, his +tutor elect, Dr. Theaker Wilder, was a violent and vindictive man, with +whom his ungainly and unhopeful pupil found little favour. Wilder had a +passion for mathematics which was not shared by Goldsmith, who, indeed, +spoke contemptuously enough of that science in after life. He could, +however, he told Malone, 'turn an Ode of Horace into English better than +any of them.' But his academic career was not a success. In May, 1747, +the year in which his father died,--an event that further contracted his +already slender means,--he became involved in a college riot, and was +publicly admonished. From this disgrace he recovered to some extent in +the following month by obtaining a trifling money exhibition, a triumph +which he unluckily celebrated by a party at his rooms. Into these +festivities, the heinousness of which was aggravated by the fact that +they included guests of both sexes, the exasperated Wilder made +irruption, and summarily terminated the proceedings by knocking down the +host. The disgrace was too much for the poor lad. He forthwith sold his +books and belongings, and ran away, vaguely bound for America. But after +considerable privations, including the achievement of a destitution so +complete that a handful of grey peas, given him by a girl at a wake, +seemed a banquet, he turned his steps homeward, and, a reconciliation +having been patched up with his tutor, he was received once more at +college. In February, 1749, he took his degree, a low one, as B.A., and +quitted the university, leaving behind him, for relics of that time, a +scratched signature upon a window-pane, a 'folio' Scapula scored +liberally with 'promises to pay,' and a reputation for much loitering at +the college gates in the study of passing humanity. Another habit which +his associates recalled was his writing of ballads when in want of +funds. These he would sell at five shillings apiece; and would +afterwards steal out in the twilight to hear them sung to the +indiscriminate but applauding audience of the Dublin streets. + +What was to be done with a genius so unstable, so erratic? Nothing, +apparently, but to let him qualify for orders, and for this he is too +young. Thereupon ensues a sort of 'Martin's summer' in his changing +life,--a disengaged, delightful time when 'Master Noll' wanders +irresponsibly from house to house, fishing and flute-playing, or, of +winter evenings, taking the chair at the village inn. When at last the +moment came for his presentation to the Bishop of Elphin, that prelate, +sad to say, rejected him, perhaps because of his college reputation, +perhaps because of actual incompetence, perhaps even, as tradition +affirms, because he had the bad taste to appear before his examiner in +flaming scarlet breeches. After this rebuff, tutoring was next tried. +But he had no sooner saved some thirty pounds by teaching, than he threw +up his engagement, bought a horse, and started once more for America, by +way of Cork. In six weeks he had returned penniless, having substituted +for his roadster a sorry jade, to which he gave the contemptuous name of +Fiddleback. He had also the simplicity to wonder, on this occasion, that +his mother was not rejoiced to see him again. His next ambition was to +be a lawyer; and, to this end, a kindly Uncle Contarine equipped him +with fifty pounds for preliminary studies. But on his way to London he +was decoyed into gambling, lost every farthing, and came home once more +in bitter self-abasement. Having now essayed both divinity and law, his +next attempt was physic; and, in 1752, fitted out afresh by his +long-suffering uncle, he started for, and succeeded in reaching, +Edinburgh. Here more memories survive of his social qualities than of +his studies; and two years later he left the Scottish capital for +Leyden, rather, it may be conjectured, from a restless desire to see the +world than really to exchange the lectures of Monro for the lectures of +Albinus. At Newcastle (according to his own account) he had the good +fortune to be locked up as a Jacobite, and thus escaped drowning, as the +ship by which he was to have sailed to Bordeaux sank at the mouth of the +Garonne. Shortly afterwards he arrived in Leyden. Gaubius and other +Dutch professors figure sonorously in his future works; but whether he +had much experimental knowledge of their instructions may be doubted. +What seems undeniable is, that the old seduction of play stripped him of +every shilling; so that, like Holberg before him, he set out +deliberately to make the tour of Europe on foot. 'Haud inexpertus +loquor,' he wrote in after days, when praising this mode of locomotion. +He first visited Flanders. Thence he passed to France, Germany, +Switzerland, and Italy, supporting himself mainly by his flute, and by +occasional disputations at convents or universities. 'Sir,' said Boswell +to Johnson, 'he 'disputed' his passage through Europe.' When on the 1st +February, 1756, he landed at Dover, it was with empty pockets. But he +had sent home to his brother in Ireland his first rough sketch for the +poem of 'The Traveller'. + +He was now seven-and-twenty. He had seen and suffered much, but he was +to have further trials before drifting definitely into literature. +Between Dover and London, it has been surmised, he made a tentative +appearance as a strolling player. His next ascertained part was that of +an apothecary's assistant on Fish Street Hill. From this, with the +opportune aid of an Edinburgh friend, he proceeded--to use an +eighteenth-century phrase--a poor physician in the Bankside, Southwark, +where least of all, perhaps, was London's fabled pavement to be found. +So little of it, in fact, fell to Goldsmith's share, that we speedily +find him reduced to the rank of reader and corrector of the press to +Samuel Richardson, printer, of Salisbury Court, author of 'Clarissa'. +Later still he is acting as help or substitute in Dr. Milner's +'classical academy' at Peckham. Here, at last, chance seemed to open to +him the prospect of a literary life. He had already, says report, +submitted a manuscript tragedy to Richardson's judgement; and something +he said at Dr. Milner's table attracted the attention of an occasional +visitor there, the bookseller Griffiths, who was also proprietor of the +'Monthly Review'. He invited Dr. Milner's usher to try his hand at +criticism; and finally, in April, 1757, Goldsmith was bound over for a +year to that venerable lady whom George Primrose dubs 'the 'antiqua +mater' of Grub Street'--in other words, he was engaged for bed, board, +and a fixed salary to supply copy-of-all-work to his master's magazine. + +The arrangement thus concluded was not calculated to endure. After some +five months of labour from nine till two, and often later, it came +suddenly to an end. No clear explanation of the breach is forthcoming, +but mere incompatability of temper would probably supply a sufficient +ground for disagreement. Goldsmith, it is said, complained that the +bookseller and his wife treated him ill, and denied him ordinary +comforts; added to which the lady, a harder taskmistress even than the +'antiqua mater' above referred to, joined with her husband in 'editing' +his articles, a course which, hard though it may seem, is not +unprecedented. However this may be, either in September or October, +1757, he was again upon the world, existing precariously from hand to +mouth. 'By a very little practice as a physician, and very little +reputation as a poet [a title which, as Prior suggests, possibly means +no more than author], I make a shift to live.' So he wrote to his +brother-in-law in December. What his literary occupations were cannot be +definitely stated; but, if not prepared before, they probably included +the translation of a remarkable work issued by Griffiths and others in +the ensuing February. This was the 'Memoirs of a Protestant, condemned +to the Galleys of France for his Religion', being the authentic record +of the sufferings of one Jean Marteilhe of Bergerac, a book of which +Michelet has said that it is 'written as if between earth and heaven.' +Marteilhe, who died at Cuylenberg in 1777, was living in Holland in +1758; and it may be that Goldsmith had seen or heard of him during his +own stay in that country. The translation, however, did not bear +Goldsmith's name, but that of James Willington, one of his old +class-fellows at Trinity College. Nevertheless, Prior says distinctly +that Griffiths (who should have known) declared it to be by Goldsmith. +Moreover, the French original had been catalogued in Griffiths' magazine +in the second month of Goldsmith's servitude, a circumstance which +colourably supplies the reason for its subsequent rendering into +English. + +The publication of Marteilhe's 'Memoirs' had no influence upon +Goldsmith's fortunes, for, in a short time, he was again installed at +Peckham, in place of Dr. Milner invalided, waiting hopefully for the +fulfilment of a promise by his old master to procure him a medical +appointment on a foreign station. It is probably that, with a view to +provide the needful funds for this expatriation, he now began to sketch +the little volume afterwards published under the title of 'An Enquiry +into the Present State of Polite Learning in Europe', for towards the +middle of the year we find him addressing long letters to his relatives +in Ireland to enlist their aid in soliciting subscriptions for this +book. At length the desired advancement was obtained,--a nomination as a +physician and surgeon to one of the factories on the coast of +Coromandel. But banishment to the East Indies was not to be his destiny. +For some unexplained reason the project came to nothing; and then--like +Roderick Random--he presented himself at Surgeons' Hall for the more +modest office of a hospital mate. This was on the 21st of December, +1758. The curt official record states that he was 'found not qualified.' +What made matters worse, the necessity for a decent appearance before +the examiners had involved him in new obligations to Griffiths, out of +which arose fresh difficulties. To pay his landlady, whose husband was +arrested for debt, he pawned the suit he had procured by Griffiths' aid; +and he also raised money on some volumes which had been sent him for +review. Thereupon ensued an angry and humiliating correspondence with +the bookseller, as a result of which Griffiths, nevertheless, appears to +have held his hand. + +By this time Goldsmith had moved into those historic but now +non-existent lodgings in 12 Green Arbour Court, Old Bailey, which have +been photographed for ever in Irving's 'Tales of a Traveller'. It was +here that the foregoing incidents took place; and it was here also that, +early in 1759, 'in a wretched dirty room, in which there was but one +chair,' the Rev. Thomas Percy, afterwards Bishop of Dromore, found him +composing (or more probably correcting the proofs of) 'The Enquiry'. 'At +least spare invective 'till my book with Mr. Dodsley shall be +publish'd,'--he had written not long before to the irate Griffiths--'and +then perhaps you may see the bright side of a mind when my professions +shall not appear the dictates of necessity but of choice.' 'The Enquiry' +came out on the 2nd of April. It had no author's name, but it was an +open secret that Goldsmith had written it; and to this day it remains to +the critic one of the most interesting of his works. Obviously, in a +duodecimo of some two hundred widely-printed pages, it was impossible to +keep the high-sounding promise of its title; and at best its author's +knowledge of the subject, notwithstanding his continental wanderings, +can have been but that of an external spectator. Still in an age when +critical utterance was more than ordinarily full-wigged and ponderous, +it dared to be sprightly and epigrammatic. Some of its passages, +besides, bear upon the writer's personal experiences, and serve to piece +the imperfections of his biography. If it brought him no sudden wealth, +it certainly raised his reputation with the book-selling world. A +connexion already begun with Smollett's 'Critical Review' was drawn +closer; and the shrewd Sosii of the Row began to see the importance of +securing so vivacious and unconventional a pen. Towards the end of the +year he was writing for Wilkie the collection of periodical essays +entitled 'The Bee'; and contributing to the same publisher's 'Lady's +Magazine', as well as to 'The Busy Body' of one Pottinger. In these, +more than ever, he was finding his distinctive touch; and ratifying +anew, with every fresh stroke of his pen, his bondage to authorship as a +calling. + +He had still, however, to conquer the public. 'The Bee', although it +contains one of his most characteristic essays ('A City Night-Piece'), +and some of the most popular of his lighter verses ('The Elegy on Mrs. +Mary Blaize'), never attained the circulation essential to healthy +existence. It closed with its eighth number in November, 1759. In the +following month two gentlemen called at Green Arbour Court to enlist the +services of its author. One was Smollett, with a new serial, 'The +British Magazine'; the other was Johnson's 'Jack Whirler,' bustling Mr. +John Newbery from the 'Bible and Sun' in St. Paul's Churchyard, with a +new daily newspaper, 'The Public Ledger'. For Smollett, Goldsmith wrote +the 'Reverie at the Boar's Head Tavern' and the 'Adventures of a +Strolling Player,' besides a number of minor papers. For Newbery, by a +happy recollection of the 'Lettres Persanes' of Montesquieu, or some of +his imitators, he struck almost at once into that charming epistolary +series, brimful of fine observation, kindly satire, and various fancy, +which was ultimately to become the English classic known as 'The Citizen +of the World'. He continued to produce these letters periodically until +the August of the following year, when they were announced for +republication in 'two volumes of the usual 'Spectator' size.' In this +form they appeared in May, 1762. + +But long before this date a change for the better had taken place in +Goldsmith's life. Henceforth he was sure of work,--mere journey-work +though much of it must have been;--and, had his nature been less +improvident, of freedom from absolute want. The humble lodgings in the +Old Bailey were discarded for new premises at No. 6 Wine Office Court, +Fleet Street; and here, on the 31st of May, 1761, with Percy, came one +whose name was often in the future to be associated with Goldsmith's, +the great Dictator of London literary society, Samuel Johnson. Boswell, +who made Johnson's acquaintance later, has not recorded the humours of +that supper; but it marks the beginning of Goldsmith's friendship with +the man who of all others (Reynolds excepted) loved him most and +understood him best. + +During the remainder of 1761 he continued busily to ply his pen. Besides +his contributions to 'The Ledger' and 'The British Magazine', he edited +'The Lady's Magazine', inserting in it the 'Memoirs of Voltaire', drawn +up some time earlier to accompany a translation of the 'Henriade' by his +crony and compatriot Edward Purdon. Towards the beginning of 1762 he was +hard at work on several compilations for Newbery, for whom he wrote or +edited a 'History of Mecklenburgh', and a series of monthly volumes of +an abridgement of 'Plutarch's Lives'. In October of the same year was +published the 'Life of Richard Nash', apparently the outcome of special +holiday-visits to the then fashionable watering-place of Bath, whence +its fantastic old Master of the Ceremonies had only very lately made his +final exit. It is a pleasantly gossiping, and not unedifying little +book, which still holds a respectable place among its author's minor +works. But a recently discovered entry in an old ledger shows that +during the latter half of 1762 he must have planned, if he had not, +indeed, already in part composed, a far more important effort, 'The +Vicar of Wakefield'. For on the 28th of October in this year he sold to +one Benjamin Collins, printer, of Salisbury, for 21 pounds, a third in a +work with that title, further described as '2 vols. 12mo.' How this +little circumstance, discovered by Mr. Charles Welsh when preparing his +Life of John Newbery, is to be brought into agreement with the +time-honoured story, related (with variations) by Boswell and others, to +the effect that Johnson negotiated the sale of the manuscript for +Goldsmith when the latter was arrested for rent by his incensed +landlady--has not yet been satisfactorily suggested. Possibly the +solution is a simple one, referable to some of those intricate +arrangements favoured by 'the Trade' at a time when not one but half a +score publishers' names figured in an imprint. At present, the fact that +Collins bought a third share of the book from the author for twenty +guineas, and the statement that Johnson transferred the entire +manuscript to a bookseller for sixty pounds, seem irreconcilable. That +'The Vicar of Wakefield' was nevertheless written, or was being written, +in 1762, is demonstrable from internal evidence. + +About Christmas in the same year Goldsmith moved into lodgings at +Islington, his landlady being one Mrs. Elizabeth Fleming, a friend of +Newbery, to whose generalship this step seems attributable. From the +curious accounts printed by Prior and Forster, it is clear that the +publisher was Mrs. Fleming's paymaster, punctually deducting his +disbursements from the account current between himself and Goldsmith, an +arrangement which as plainly indicates the foresight of the one as it +implies the improvidence of the other. Of the work which Goldsmith did +for the businesslike and not unkindly little man, there is no very +definite evidence; but various prefaces, introductions, and the like, +belong to this time; and he undoubtedly was the author of the excellent +'History of England in a Series of Letters addressed by a Nobleman to +his Son', published anonymously in June, 1764, and long attributed, for +the grace of its style, to Lyttelton, Chesterfield, Orrery, and other +patrician pens. Meanwhile his range of acquaintance was growing larger. +The establishment, at the beginning of 1764, of the famous association +known afterwards as the 'Literary Club' brought him into intimate +relations with Beauclerk, Reynolds, Langton, Burke, and others. Hogarth, +too, is said to have visited him at Islington, and to have painted the +portrait of Mrs. Fleming. Later in the same year, incited thereto by the +success of Christopher Smart's 'Hannah', he wrote the Oratorio of 'The +Captivity', now to be found in most editions of his poems, but never set +to music. Then after the slow growth of months, was issued on the 19th +December the elaboration of that fragmentary sketch which he had sent +years before to his brother Henry from the Continent, the poem entitled +'The Traveller; or, A Prospect of Society'. + +In the notes appended to 'The Traveller' in the present volume, its +origin and progress are sufficiently explained. Its success was +immediate and enduring. The beauty of the descriptive passages, the +subtle simplicity of the language, the sweetness and finish of the +versification, found ready admirers,--perhaps all the more because of +the contrast they afforded to the rough and strenuous sounds with which +Charles Churchill had lately filled the public ear. Johnson, who +contributed a few lines at the close, proclaimed 'The Traveller' to be +the best poem since the death of Pope; and it is certainly not easy to +find its equal among the works of contemporary bards. It at once raised +Goldsmith from the condition of a clever newspaper essayist, or--as men +like Sir John Hawkins would have said--a mere 'bookseller's drudge,' to +the foremost rank among the poets of the day. Another result of its +success was the revival of some of his earlier work, which, however +neglected by the author, had been freely appropriated by the discerning +pirate. In June, 1765, Griffin and Newbery published a little volume of +'Essays by Mr. Goldsmith', including some of the best of his +contributions to 'The Bee', 'The Busy Body', 'The Public Ledger', and +'The British Magazine', besides 'The Double Transformation' and 'The +Logicians Refuted,' two pieces of verse in imitation of Prior and Swift, +which have not been traced to an earlier source. To the same year +belongs the first version of a poem which he himself regarded as his +best work, and which still retains something of its former popularity. +This was the ballad of 'Edwin and Angelina', otherwise known as 'The +Hermit'. It originated in certain metrical discussions with Percy, then +engaged upon his famous 'Reliques of English Poetry'; and in 1765, +Goldsmith, who through his friend Nugent (afterwards Lord Clare) had +made the acquaintance of the Earl of Northumberland, printed it +privately for the amusement of the Countess. In a revised and amended +form it was subsequently given to the world in 'The Vicar of Wakefield'. + +With the exception of an abortive attempt to resume his practice as a +medical man,--an attempt which seems to have been frustrated by the +preternatural strength of his prescriptions,--the next memorable thing +in Goldsmith's life is the publication of 'The Vicar of Wakefield' +itself. It made its appearance on the 27th of March, 1766. A second +edition followed in May, a third in August. Why, having been sold (in +part) to a Salisbury printer as far back as October, 1762, it had +remained unprinted so long; and why, when published, it was published by +Francis Newbery and not by John Newbery, Goldsmith's employer,--are +questions at present unsolved. But the charm of this famous novel is as +fresh as when it was first issued. Its inimitable types, its happy +mingling of Christianity and character, its wholesome benevolence and +its practical wisdom, are still unimpaired. We smile at the +inconsistencies of the plot; but we are carried onward in spite of them, +captivated by the grace, the kindliness, the gentle humour of the story. +Yet it is a mistake to suppose that its success was instantaneous. +Pirated it was, of course; but, according to expert investigations, the +authorized edition brought so little gain to its first proprietors that +the fourth issue of 1770 started with a loss. The fifth, published in +April, 1774, was dated 1773; and had apparently been withheld because +the previous edition, which consisted of no more than one thousand +copies, was not exhausted. Five years elapsed before the sixth edition +made its tardy appearance in 1779. These facts show that the writer's +contemporaries were not his most eager readers. But he has long since +appealed to the wider audience of posterity; and his fame is not +confined to his native country, for he has been translated into most +European languages. Dr. Primrose and his family are now veritable +'citizens of the world.' + +A selection of 'Poems for Young Ladies', in the 'Moral' division of +which he included his own 'Edwin and Angelina'; two volumes of 'Beauties +of English Poesy', disfigured with strange heedlessness, by a couple of +the most objectionable pieces of Prior; a translation of a French +history of philosophy, and other occasional work, followed the +publication of the 'Vicar'. But towards the middle of 1766, he was +meditating a new experiment in that line in which Farquhar, Steele, +Southerne, and others of his countrymen had succeeded before him. A +fervent lover of the stage, he detested the vapid and colourless +'genteel' comedy which had gradually gained ground in England; and he +determined to follow up 'The Clandestine Marriage', then recently +adapted by Colman and Garrick from Hogarth's 'Marriage A-la-Mode', with +another effort of the same class, depending exclusively for its interest +upon humour and character. Early in 1767 it was completed, and submitted +to Garrick for Drury Lane. But Garrick perhaps too politic to traverse +the popular taste, temporized; and eventually after many delays and +disappointments, 'The Good Natur'd Man', as it was called, was produced +at Covent Garden by Colman on the 29th of January, 1768. Its success was +only partial; and in deference to the prevailing craze for the +'genteel,' an admirable scene of low humour had to be omitted in the +representation. But the piece, notwithstanding, brought the author 400 +pounds, to which the sale of the book, with the condemned passages +restored, added another 100 pounds. Furthermore, Johnson, whose +'Suspirius' in 'The Rambler' was, under the name of 'Croaker,' one of +its most prominent personages, pronounced it to be the best comedy since +Cibber's 'Provok'd Husband'. + +During the autumn of 1767, Goldsmith had again been living at Islington. +On this occasion he had a room in Canonbury Tower, Queen Elizabeth's old +hunting-lodge, and perhaps occupied the very chamber generally used by +John Newbery, whose active life was, in this year, to close. When in +London he had modest housing in the Temple. But the acquisition of 500 +pounds for 'The Good Natur'd Man' seemed to warrant a change of +residence, and he accordingly expended four-fifths of that sum for the +lease of three rooms on the second floor of No. 2 Brick Court, which he +straightway proceeded to decorate sumptuously with mirrors, Wilton +carpets, moreen curtains, and Pembroke tables. It was an unfortunate +step; and he would have done well to remember the 'Nil te quaesiveris +extra' with which his inflexible monitor, Johnson, had greeted his +apologies for the shortcomings of some earlier lodgings. One of its +natural results was to involve him in a new sequence of task-work, from +which he never afterwards shook himself free. Hence, following hard upon +a 'Roman History' which he had already engaged to write for Davies of +Russell Street, came a more ambitious project for Griffin, 'A History of +Animated Nature'; and after this again, another 'History of England' for +Davies. The pay was not inadequate; for the first he was to have 250 +guineas, for the second 800 guineas, and for the last 500 pounds. But as +employment for the author of a unique novel, an excellent comedy, and a +deservedly successful poem, it was surely--in his own words--'to cut +blocks with a razor.' + +And yet, apart from the anxieties of growing money troubles, his life +could not have been wholly unhappy. There are records of pleasant +occasional junketings--'shoe-maker's holidays' he called them--in the +still countrified suburbs of Hampstead and Edgware; there was the +gathering at the Turk's Head, with its literary magnates, for his +severer hours; and for his more pliant moments, the genial +'free-and-easy' or shilling whist-club of a less pretentious kind, where +the student of mixed character might shine with something of the old +supremacy of George Conway's inn at Ballymahon. And there must have been +quieter and more chastened resting-places of memory, when, softening +towards the home of his youth, with a sadness made more poignant by the +death of his brother Henry in May, 1768, he planned and perfected his +new poem of 'The Deserted Village'. + +In December, 1769, the recent appointment of his friend Reynolds as +President of the Royal Academy brought him the honorary office of +Professor of History to that institution; and to Reynolds 'The Deserted +Village' was dedicated. It appeared on the 26th of May, 1770, with a +success equal, if not superior, to that of 'The Traveller'. It ran +through five editions in the year of its publication; and has ever since +retained its reputation. If, as alleged, contemporary critics ranked it +below its predecessor, the reason advanced by Washington Irving, that +the poet had become his own rival, is doubtless correct; and there is +always a prejudice in favour of the first success. This, however, is not +an obstacle which need disturb the reader now; and he will probably +decide that in grace and tenderness of description 'The Deserted +Village' in no wise falls short of 'The Traveller'; and that its central +idea, and its sympathy with humanity, give it a higher value as a work +of art. + +After 'The Deserted Village' had appeared, Goldsmith made a short trip +to Paris, in company with Mrs. and the two Miss Hornecks, the elder of +whom, christened by the poet with the pretty pet-name of 'The Jessamy +Bride,' is supposed to have inspired him with more than friendly +feelings. Upon his return he had to fall again to the old +'book-building' in order to recruit his exhausted finances. Since his +last poem he had published a short 'Life of Parnell'; and Davies now +engaged him on a 'Life of Bolingbroke', and an abridgement of the 'Roman +History'. Thus, with visits to friends, among others to Lord Clare, for +whom he wrote the delightful occasional verses called 'The Haunch of +Venison', the months wore on until, in December, 1770, the print-shops +began to be full of the well-known mezzotint which Marchi had engraved +from his portrait by Sir Joshua. + +His chief publications in the next two years were the above-mentioned +'History of England', 1771; 'Threnodia Augustalis', a poetical +lament-to-order on the death of the Princess Dowager of Wales, 1772; and +the abridgement of the 'Roman History', 1772. But in the former year he +had completed a new comedy, 'She Stoops to Conquer; or, The Mistakes of +a Night', which, after the usual vexatious negotiations, was brought out +by Colman at Covent Garden on Monday, the 15th of March, 1773. The +manager seems to have acted Goldsmith's own creation of 'Croaker' with +regard to this piece, and even to the last moment predicted its failure. +But it was a brilliant success. More skilful in construction than 'The +Good Natur'd Man', more various in its contrasts of character, richer +and stronger in humour and 'vis comica', 'She Stoops to Conquer' has +continued to provide an inexhaustible fund of laughter to more than +three generations of playgoers, and still bids fair to retain the +character generally given to it, of being one of the three most popular +comedies upon the English stage. When published, it was gratefully +inscribed, in one of those admirable dedications of which its author +above all men possessed the secret, to Johnson, who had befriended it +from the first. 'I do not mean,' wrote Goldsmith, 'so much to compliment +you as myself. It may do me some honour to inform the public, that I +have lived many years in intimacy with you. It may serve the interests +of mankind also to inform them, that the greatest wit may be found in a +character, without impairing the most unaffected piety.' + +His gains from 'She Stoops to Conquer' were considerable; but by this +time his affairs had reached a stage of complication which nothing short +of a miracle could disentangle; and there is reason for supposing that +his involved circumstances preyed upon his mind. During the few months +of life that remained to him he published nothing, being doubtless +sufficiently occupied by the undertakings to which he was already +committed. The last of his poetical efforts was the poem entitled +'Retaliation', a group of epitaph-epigrams prompted by some similar +'jeux d'esprit' directed against himself by Garrick and other friends, +and left incomplete at his death. In March, 1774, the combined effects +of work and worry, added to a local disorder, brought on a nervous +fever, which he unhappily aggravated by the use of a patent medicine +called 'James's Powder.' He had often relied upon this before, but in +the present instance it was unsuited to his complaint. On Monday, the +4th of April, 1774, he died, in his forty-sixth year, and was buried on +the 9th in the burying-ground of the Temple Church. Two years later a +monument, with a medallion portrait by Nollekens, and a Latin +inscription by Johnson, was erected to him in Westminster Abbey, at the +expense of the Literary Club. But although the inscription contains more +than one phrase of felicitous discrimination, notably the oft-quoted +'affectuum potens, at lenis dominator', it may be doubted whether the +simpler words used by his rugged old friend in a letter to Langton are +not a fitter farewell to Oliver Goldsmith,--'Let not his frailties be +remembered; he was a very great man.' + +In person Goldsmith was short and strongly built. His complexion was +rather fair, but he was deeply scarred with small-pox; and--if we may +believe his own account--the vicissitudes and privations of his early +life had not tended to diminish his initial disadvantages. 'You scarcely +can conceive,' he writes to his brother in 1759, 'how much eight years +of disappointment, anguish, and study, have worn me down.... Imagine to +yourself a pale melancholy visage, with two great wrinkles between the +eye-brows, with an eye disgustingly severe, and a big wig; and you may +have a perfect picture of my present appearance,' i.e. at thirty years +of age. 'I can neither laugh nor drink,' he goes on; 'have contracted an +hesitating, disagreeable manner of speaking, and a visage that looks +ill-nature itself; in short, I have thought myself into a settled +melancholy, and an utter disgust of all that life brings with it.' It is +obvious that this description is largely coloured by passing depression. +'His features,' says one contemporary, 'were plain, but not +repulsive,--certainly not so when lighted up by conversation.' Another +witness--the 'Jessamy Bride'--declares that 'his benevolence was +unquestionable, and his countenance bore every trace of it.' His true +likeness would seem to lie midway between the grotesquely truthful +sketch by Bunbury prefixed in 1776 to the 'Haunch of Venison', and the +portrait idealized by personal regard, which Reynolds painted in 1770. +In this latter he is shown wearing, in place of his customary wig, his +own scant brown hair, and, on this occasion, masquerades in a furred +robe, and falling collar. But even through the disguise of a studio +'costume,' the finely-perceptive genius of Reynolds has managed to +suggest much that is most appealing in his sitter's nature. Past +suffering, present endurance, the craving to be understood, the mute +deprecation of contempt, are all written legibly in this pathetic +picture. It has been frequently copied, often very ineffectively, for so +subtle is the art that the slightest deviation hopelessly distorts and +vulgarizes what Reynolds has done supremely, once and for ever. + +Goldsmith's character presents but few real complexities. What seems +most to have impressed his contemporaries is the difference, emphasized +by the happily-antithetic epigram of Garrick, between his written style +and his conversation; and collaterally, between his eminence as a +literary man and his personal insignificance. Much of this is easily +intelligible. He had started in life with few temporal or physical +advantages, and with a native susceptibility that intensified his +defects. Until he became a middle-aged man, he led a life of which we do +not even now know all the degradations; and these had left their mark +upon his manners. With the publication of 'The Traveller', he became at +once the associate of some of the best talent and intellect in +England,--of fine gentlemen such as Beauclerk and Langton, of artists +such as Reynolds and Garrick, of talkers such as Johnson and Burke. +Morbidly self-conscious, nervously anxious to succeed, he was at once +forced into a competition for which neither his antecedents nor his +qualifications had prepared him. To this, coupled with the old habit of +poverty, must be attributed his oft-cited passion for fine clothes, +which surely arose less from vanity than from a mistaken attempt to +extenuate what he felt to be his most obvious shortcomings. As a talker +especially he was ill-fitted to shine. He was easily disconcerted by +retort, and often discomfited in argument. To the end of his days he +never lost his native brogue; and (as he himself tells us) he had that +most fatal of defects to a narrator, a slow and hesitating manner. The +perspicuity which makes the charm of his writings deserted him in +conversation; and his best things were momentary flashes. But some of +these were undoubtedly very happy. His telling Johnson that he would +make the little fishes talk like whales; his affirmation of Burke that +he wound into a subject like a serpent; and half-a-dozen other +well-remembered examples--afford ample proof of this. Something of the +uneasy jealousy he is said to have exhibited with regard to certain of +his contemporaries may also be connected with the long probation of +obscurity during which he had been a spectator of the good fortune of +others, to whom he must have known himself superior. His improvidence +seems to have been congenital, since it is to be traced 'even from his +boyish days.' But though it cannot justly be ascribed to any reaction +from want to sufficiency, it can still less be supposed to have been +diminished by that change. If he was careless of money, it must also be +remembered that he gave much of it away; and fortune lingers little with +those whose ears are always open to a plausible tale of distress. Of his +sensibility and genuine kindheartedness there is no doubt. And it is +well to remember that most of the tales to his disadvantage come, not +from his more distinguished companions, but from such admitted +detractors as Hawkins and Boswell. It could be no mean individuality +that acquired the esteem, and deserved the regret, of Johnson and +Reynolds. + +In an edition of Goldsmith's poems, any extended examination of his +remaining productions would be out of place. Moreover, the bulk of these +is considerably reduced when all that may properly be classed as +hack-work has been withdrawn. The histories of Greece, of Rome, and of +England; the 'Animated Nature'; the lives of Nash, Voltaire, Parnell, +and Bolingbroke, are merely compilations, only raised to the highest +level in that line because they proceeded from a man whose gift of clear +and easy exposition lent a charm to everything he touched. With the work +which he did for himself, the case is different. Into 'The Citizen of +the World', 'The Vicar of Wakefield', and his two comedies, he put all +the best of his knowledge of human nature, his keen sympathy with his +kind, his fine common-sense and his genial humour. The same qualities, +tempered by a certain grace and tenderness, also enter into the best of +his poems. Avoiding the epigram of Pope and the austere couplet of +Johnson, he yet borrowed something from each, which he combined with a +delicacy and an amenity that he had learned from neither. He himself, in +all probability, would have rested his fame on his three chief metrical +efforts, 'The Traveller', 'The Hermit', and 'The Deserted Village'. But, +as is often the case, he is remembered even more favourably by some of +those delightful familiar verses, unprinted during his lifetime, which +he threw off with no other ambition than the desire to amuse his +friends. 'Retaliation', 'The Haunch of Venison', the 'Letter in Prose +and Verse to Mrs. Bunbury', all afford noteworthy exemplification of +that playful touch and wayward fancy which constitute the chief +attraction of this species of poetry. In his imitations of Swift and +Prior, and his variations upon French suggestions, his personal note is +scarcely so apparent; but the two Elegies and some of the minor pieces +retain a deserved reputation. His ingenious prologues and epilogues also +serve to illustrate the range and versatility of his talent. As a rule, +the arrangement in the present edition is chronological; but it has not +been thought necessary to depart from the practice which gives a +time-honoured precedence to 'The Traveller' and 'The Deserted Village'. +The true sequence of the poems, in their order of publication, is, +however, exactly indicated in the table which follows this Introduction. + + + + + +CHRONOLOGY OF GOLDSMITH'S LIFE AND POEMS. + +------ 1728 ------ +November 10. Born at Pallas, near Ballymahon, in the county of + Longford, Ireland. + + +------ 1730 ------ + Family remove to Lissoy, in the county of Westmeath. + + +------ 1731 ------ + Under Elizabeth Delap. + + +------ 1734 ------ + Under Mr. Thomas Byrne of the village school. + + +------ 1736-44 ------ + At school at Elphin (Mr. Griffin's), + Athlone (Mr. Campbell's), + Edgeworthstown (Mr. Hughes's). + + +------ 1744 ------ +June 11. Admitted a sizar of Trinity College, Dublin, + 'annum agens 15.' + + +------ 1747 ------ + Death of his father, the Rev. Charles Goldsmith. +May. Takes part in a college riot. +June 15. Obtains a Smythe exhibition. + Runs away from college. + + +------ 1749 ------ +February 27. Takes his degree as Bachelor of Arts. + + +------ 1751 ------ + Rejected for orders by the Bishop of Elphin. + Tutor to Mr. Flinn. + Sets out for America (via Cork), but returns. + Letter to Mrs. Goldsmith(his mother). + +------ 1752 ------ + Starts as a law student, but loses his all at play. + Goes to Edinburgh to become a medical student. + +------ 1753 ------ +January 13. Admitted a member of the 'Medical Society' of Edinburgh. +May 8. Letter to his Uncle Contarine. +September 26. Letter to Robert Bryanton. + Letter to his Uncle Contarine. + + +------ 1754 ------ + Goes to Leyden. Letter to his Uncle Contarine. + + +------ 1755 ------ +February. Leaves Leyden. + Takes degree of Bachelor of Medicine at Louvain (?). + Travels on foot in France, Germany, + Switzerland, and Italy. + Sketches 'The Traveller'. + + +------ 1756 ------ +February 1. Returns to Dover. + Low comedian; usher (?); apothecary's journeyman; + poor physician in Bankside, Southwark. + + +------ 1757 ------ + Press corrector to Samuel Richardson, printer and + novelist; assistant at Peckham Academy (Dr. Milner's). +April. Bound over to Griffiths the bookseller. + Quarrels with Griffiths. +December 27. Letter to his brother-in-law, Daniel Hodson. + + +------ 1758 ------ +February. Publishes 'The Memoirs of a Protestant, + condemned to the Galleys of France for his Religion'. + Gives up literature and returns to Peckham. +August. Leaves Peckham. Letters to Edward Mills, Bryanton, + Mrs. Jane Lawder. + Appointed surgeon and physician to a factory + on the Coast of Coromandel. +November (?). Letter to Hodson. + Moves into 12 Green Arbour Court, Old Bailey. + Coromandel appointment comes to nothing. +December 21. Rejected at Surgeons' Hall as 'not qualified' + for a hospital mate. + + +------ 1759 ------ +February (?). Letter to Henry Goldsmith. +March. Visited by Percy at 12 Green Arbour Court. +April 2. 'Enquiry into the Present State of Polite Learning in + Europe' published. 'Prologue of Laberius' ('Enquiry'). +October 6. 'The Bee' commenced. 'On a Beautiful Youth struck blind + with Lightning' ('Bee'). +October 13. 'The Gift' ('Bee'). + " 18. 'The Logicians Refuted' ('Busy Body'). + " 20. 'A Sonnet' ('Bee'). + " 22. 'Stanzas on the Taking of Quebec' ('Busy Body'). +October 27. 'Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize' ('Bee'). +November 24. 'The Bee' closed. + + +------ 1760 ------ +January 1. 'The British Magazine' commenced. + " 12. 'The Public Ledger' commenced. + " 24. First Chinese Letter published ('Citizen of the World'). +May 2. 'Description of an Author's Bedchamber' ('Chinese Letter' + in 'Public Ledger'). +October 21. 'On seeing Mrs....perform,'etc. ('Chinese Letter' in + 'Public Ledger'). + Editing 'Lady's Magazine'. Compiling Prefaces. + Moves into 6 Wine Office Court, Fleet Street. + + +------ 1761 ------ +March 4. 'On the Death of the Right Hon....('Chinese Letter' in + 'Public Ledger'). +April 4-14. 'An Epigram'; to G. C. and R. L. ('Chinese Letter + in 'Public Ledger'). +May 13. 'Translation of a South American Ode.' ('Chinese + Letter' in 'Public Ledger') +August 14. Last Chinese Letter published ('Citizen of the World'). + 'Memoirs of M. de Voltaire' published in + 'Lady's Magazine'. + + +------ 1762 ------ +February 23. Pamphlet on Cock Lane Ghost published. + " 26. 'History of Mecklenburgh' published. +May 1. 'Citizen of the World' published. +May 1 to Nov. 1. 'Plutarch's Lives', vol. i to vii, published. + At Bath and Tunbridge. +October 14. 'Life of Richard Nash' published. + " 28. Sells third share of 'Vicar of Wakefield' + to B. Collins, printer, Salisbury. + At Mrs. Fleming's at Islington. + + +------ 1763 ------ +March 31. Agrees with James Dodsley to write a + 'Chronological History of the Lives of Eminent + Persons of Great Britain and Ireland'. (Never done.) + + +------ 1764 ------ + 'The Club,' afterwards the Literary Club, founded. + Moves into lodgings on the + library staircase of the Temple. +June 26. 'History of England, in a series of Letters + from a Nobleman to his Son' published. +October 31. Oratorio of 'The Captivity' sold to James Dodsley. +December 19. 'The Traveller' published. + +------ 1765 ------ +June 4. 'Essays by Mr. Goldsmith' published. + 'The Double Transformation,' + 'A New Simile' ('Essays'). + 'Edwin and Angelina' ('The Hermit') + printed privately for the amusement + of the Countess of Northumberland. + Resumes practice as a physician. + + +------ 1766 ------ +March 27. 'Vicar of Wakefield' published. + 'Elegy on a Mad Dog'; + 'Olivia's Song' ('Vicar of Wakefield'). +May 31. 'Vicar of Wakefield', 2nd edition. +June. Translation of Formey's 'Concise History of + Philosophy and Philosophers' published. +August 29. 'Vicar of Wakefield', 3rd edition. +December 15. 'Poems for Young Ladies' published. + + +------ 1766 ------ +December 28. 'English Grammar' written. + + +------ 1767 ------ +April. 'Beauties of English Poesy' published. +July 19. Living in Garden Court, Temple. + " 25. Letter to the 'St. James's Chronicle'. +December 22. Death of John Newbery. + + +------ 1768 ------ +February 5. Publishes 'The Good Natur'd Man', a Comedy, + produced at Covent Garden, January 29. + 'Epilogue to 'The Good Natur'd Man'.' + Moves to 2 Brick Court, Middle Temple. +May. Death of Henry Goldsmith. + Living at Edgware. + + +------ 1769 ------ +February 18. 'Epilogue to Mrs. Lenox's 'Sister'.' + " 29. Agreement for 'a new Natural History + of Animals' ('Animated Nature'). +May 18. 'Roman History' published +June 13. Agreement for 'History of England'. +December. Appointed Professor of History to the Royal Academy. + + +------ 1770 ------ +January. Letter to Maurice Goldsmith. +April 24-May 26. Portrait by Reynolds exhibited. +May 26. 'The Deserted Village' published. +July 13. 'Life of Thomas Parnell' published. +July. On the Continent with the Hornecks. + Letters to Reynolds. +September 15. Agreement for abridgement of 'Roman History'. +December 1. Marchi's print from Reynold's portrait published. +December 19. 'Life of Bolingbroke' published. + 'Vicar of Wakefield', 4th edition. + +------ 1771 ------ + 'Haunch of Venison' written. (?) +August 6. 'History of England' published. +December 11. 'Prologue to Cradock's 'Zobeide'.' + +------ 1772 ------ +February 20. 'Threnodia Augustalis' published. + Watson's Engraving of 'Resignation' published. +December. Abridgement of 'Roman History' published. + +------ 1773 ------ +March 26. Publishes 'She Stoops to Conquer; or, + The Mistakes of a Night', a Comedy, + produced at Covent Garden, March 15. + 'Song in 'She Stoops to Conquer',' + 'Epilogue to 'She Stoops to Conquer'.' + + +------ 1773 ------ +March 24. Kenrick's libel in the 'London Packet'. + " 31. Letter in the 'Daily Advertiser'. +May 8. 'The Grumbler' produced. + Projects a 'Dictionary of Arts and Sciences'. + + +------ 1774 ------ +March 25. Illness. +April 4. Death. + " 9. 'Buried 9th April, Oliver Goldsmith, MB, + late of Brick-court, Middle Temple' + (Register of Burials, Temple Church). +April 19. 'Retaliation' published. +April. 'Vicar of Wakefield', 5th edition (dated 1773). +June. Song ('Ah me, when shall I marry me?') published. +June 28. Letters of Administration granted. +June. 'An History of the Earth and Animated Nature' + published. + 'Translation from Addison.' ('History', etc., 1774.) + + +------ 1776 ------ + 'The Haunch of Venison' published. + 'Epitaph on Thomas Parnell,' and + 'Two Songs from 'The Captivity' ('Haunch of Venison'). + Monument with medallion by Nollekens erected in the + south transept of Westminster Abbey. + +------ 1777 ------ + 'Poems and Plays' published. + 'The Clown's Reply,' + 'Epitaph on Edward Purdon' ('Poems', etc., 1777). + +------ 1779 ------ + 'Vicar of Wakefield', 6th edition. + +------ 1780 ------ + 'Poetical and Dramatic Works', + Evans's edition, published. + 'Epilogue for Lee Lewes' ('Poetical, etc., Works', 1780). + +------ 1801 ------ + 'Miscellaneous Works', Percy's edition, published. + 'Epilogues (unspoken) to 'She Stoops to Conquer'' + ('Misc. Works', 1801). + +------ 1820 ------ + 'Miscellaneous Works', 'trade' edition, published. + An Oratorio' ('The Captivity'). ('Misc. Works', 1820.) + +------ 1837 ------ + 'Miscellaneous Works', Prior's edition, published. + 'Verses in Reply to an Invitation to Dinner'; + 'Letter in Prose and Verse to Mrs. Bunbury' + ('Misc. Works', 1837). + Tablet erected in the Temple Church. + +------ 1854 ------ + 'Goldsmith's Works', Cunningham's edition, published. + 'Translation of Vida's 'Game of Chess'' + ('Works', 1854, vol. iv). + +------ 1864 ------ +January 5. J. H. Foley's statue placed in front of + Dublin University. + + + + + + +DESCRIPTIVE POEMS + +THE TRAVELLER +OR +A PROSPECT OF SOCIETY + +DEDICATION +TO THE REV. HENRY GOLDSMITH + +DEAR SIR, + +I am sensible that the friendship between us can acquire no new force +from the ceremonies of a Dedication; and perhaps it demands an excuse +thus to prefix your name to my attempts, which you decline giving with +your own. But as a part of this Poem was formerly written to you from +Switzerland, the whole can now, with propriety, be only inscribed to +you. It will also throw a light upon many parts of it, when the reader +understands, that it is addressed to a man, who, despising Fame and +Fortune, has retired early to Happiness and Obscurity, with an income of +forty pounds a year. + +I now perceive, my dear brother, the wisdom of your humble choice. You +have entered upon a sacred office, where the harvest is great, and the +labourers are but few; while you have left the field of Ambition, where +the labourers are many, and the harvest not worth carrying away. But of +all kinds of ambition, what from the refinement of the times, from +different systems of criticism, and from the divisions of party, that +which pursues poetical fame is the wildest. + +Poetry makes a principal amusement among unpolished nations; but in a +country verging to the extremes of refinement, Painting and Music come +in for a share. As these offer the feeble mind a less laborious +entertainment, they at first rival Poetry, and at length supplant her; +they engross all that favour once shown to her, and though but younger +sisters, seize upon the elder's birthright. + +Yet, however this art may be neglected by the powerful, it is still in +greater danger from the mistaken efforts of the learned to improve it. +What criticisms have we not heard of late in favour of blank verse, and +Pindaric odes, choruses, anapaests and iambics, alliterative care and +happy negligence! Every absurdity has now a champion to defend it; and +as he is generally much in the wrong, so he has always much to say; for +error is ever talkative. + +But there is an enemy to this art still more dangerous, I mean Party. +Party entirely distorts the judgment, and destroys the taste. When the +mind is once infected with this disease, it can only find pleasure in +what contributes to increase the distemper. Like the tiger, that seldom +desists from pursuing man after having once preyed upon human flesh, the +reader, who has once gratified his appetite with calumny, makes, ever +after, the most agreeable feast upon murdered reputation. Such readers +generally admire some half-witted thing, who wants to be thought a bold +man, having lost the character of a wise one. Him they dignify with the +name of poet; his tawdry lampoons are called satires, his turbulence is +said to be force, and his frenzy fire. + +What reception a Poem may find, which has neither abuse, party, nor +blank verse to support it, I cannot tell, nor am I solicitous to know. +My aims are right. Without espousing the cause of any party, I have +attempted to moderate the rage of all. I have endeavoured to show, that +there may be equal happiness in states, that are differently governed +from our own; that every state has a particular principle of happiness, +and that this principle in each may be carried to a mischievous excess. +There are few can judge, better than yourself, how far these positions +are illustrated in this Poem. + + I am, dear Sir, + Your most affectionate Brother, + OLIVER GOLDSMITH. + + + + +THE TRAVELLER +OR +A PROSPECT OF SOCIETY + +REMOTE, unfriended, melancholy, slow, +Or by the lazy Scheldt, or wandering Po; +Or onward, where the rude Carinthian boor +Against the houseless stranger shuts the door; +Or where Campania's plain forsaken lies, 5 +A weary waste expanding to the skies: +Where'er I roam, whatever realms to see, +My heart untravell'd fondly turns to thee; +Still to my brother turns with ceaseless pain, +And drags at each remove a lengthening chain. 10 + +Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend, +And round his dwelling guardian saints attend: +Bless'd be that spot, where cheerful guests retire +To pause from toil, and trim their ev'ning fire; +Bless'd that abode, where want and pain repair, 15 +And every stranger finds a ready chair; +Bless'd be those feasts with simple plenty crown'd, +Where all the ruddy family around +Laugh at the jests or pranks that never fail, +Or sigh with pity at some mournful tale, 20 +Or press the bashful stranger to his food, +And learn the luxury of doing good. + +But me, not destin'd such delights to share, +My prime of life in wand'ring spent and care, +Impell'd, with steps unceasing, to pursue 25 +Some fleeting good, that mocks me with the view; +That, like the circle bounding earth and skies, +Allures from far, yet, as I follow, flies; +My fortune leads to traverse realms alone, +And find no spot of all the world my own. 30 + +E'en now, where Alpine solitudes ascend, +I sit me down a pensive hour to spend; +And, plac'd on high above the storm's career, +Look downward where a hundred realms appear; +Lakes, forests, cities, plains, extending wide, 35 +The pomp of kings, the shepherd's humbler pride. + +When thus Creation's charms around combine, +Amidst the store, should thankless pride repine? +Say, should the philosophic mind disdain +That good, which makes each humbler bosom vain? +Let school-taught pride dissemble all it can, 41 +These little things are great to little man; +And wiser he, whose sympathetic mind +Exults in all the good of all mankind. +Ye glitt'ring towns, with wealth and splendour crown'd, +Ye fields, where summer spreads profusion round, 46 +Ye lakes, whose vessels catch the busy gale, +Ye bending swains, that dress the flow'ry vale, +For me your tributary stores combine; +Creation's heir, the world, the world is mine! 50 + +As some lone miser visiting his store, +Bends at his treasure, counts, re-counts it o'er; +Hoards after hoards his rising raptures fill, +Yet still he sighs, for hoards are wanting still: +Thus to my breast alternate passions rise, 55 +Pleas'd with each good that heaven to man supplies: +Yet oft a sigh prevails, and sorrows fall, +To see the hoard of human bliss so small; +And oft I wish, amidst the scene, to find +Some spot to real happiness consign'd, 60 +Where my worn soul, each wand'ring hope at rest, +May gather bliss to see my fellows bless'd. + +But where to find that happiest spot below, +Who can direct, when all pretend to know? +The shudd'ring tenant of the frigid zone 65 +Boldly proclaims that happiest spot his own, +Extols the treasures of his stormy seas, +And his long nights of revelry and ease; +The naked negro, panting at the line, +Boasts of his golden sands and palmy wine, 70 +Basks in the glare, or stems the tepid wave, +And thanks his gods for all the good they gave. +Such is the patriot's boast, where'er we roam, +His first, best country ever is, at home. +And yet, perhaps, if countries we compare, 75 +And estimate the blessings which they share, +Though patriots flatter, still shall wisdom find +An equal portion dealt to all mankind, +As different good, by Art or Nature given, +To different nations makes their blessings even. 80 + +Nature, a mother kind alike to all, +Still grants her bliss at Labour's earnest call; +With food as well the peasant is supplied +On Idra's cliffs as Arno's shelvy side; +And though the rocky-crested summits frown, 85 +These rocks, by custom, turn to beds of down. +From Art more various are the blessings sent; +Wealth commerce, honour, liberty, content. +Yet these each other's power so strong contest, +That either seems destructive of the rest. 90 +Where wealth and freedom reign, contentment fails, +And honour sinks where commerce long prevails. +Hence every state to one lov'd blessing prone, +Conforms and models life to that alone. +Each to the favourite happiness attends, 95 +And spurns the plan that aims at other ends; +Till, carried to excess in each domain, +This favourite good begets peculiar pain. + +But let us try these truths with closer eyes, +And trace them through the prospect as it lies: 100 +Here for a while my proper cares resign'd, +Here let me sit in sorrow for mankind, +Like yon neglected shrub at random cast, +That shades the steep, and sighs at every blast. + +Far to the right where Apennine ascends, 105 +Bright as the summer, Italy extends; +Its uplands sloping deck the mountain's side, +Woods over woods in gay theatric pride; +While oft some temple's mould'ring tops between +With venerable grandeur mark the scene 110 + +Could Nature's bounty satisfy the breast, +The sons of Italy were surely blest. +Whatever fruits in different climes were found, +That proudly rise, or humbly court the ground; +Whatever blooms in torrid tracts appear, 115 +Whose bright succession decks the varied year; +Whatever sweets salute the northern sky +With vernal lives that blossom but to die; +These here disporting own the kindred soil, +Nor ask luxuriance from the planter's toil; 120 +While sea-born gales their gelid wings expand +To winnow fragrance round the smiling land. + +But small the bliss that sense alone bestows, +And sensual bliss is all the nation knows. +In florid beauty groves and fields appear, 125 +Man seems the only growth that dwindles here. +Contrasted faults through all his manner reign; +Though poor, luxurious; though submissive, vain; +Though grave, yet trifling; zealous, yet untrue; +And e'en in penance planning sins anew. 130 +All evils here contaminate the mind, +That opulence departed leaves behind; +For wealth was theirs, not far remov'd the date, +When commerce proudly flourish'd through the state; +At her command the palace learn'd to rise, 135 +Again the long-fall'n column sought the skies; +The canvas glow'd beyond e'en Nature warm, +The pregnant quarry teem'd with human form; +Till, more unsteady than the southern gale, +Commerce on other shores display'd her sail; 140 +While nought remain'd of all that riches gave, +But towns unmann'd, and lords without a slave; +And late the nation found, with fruitless skill, +Its former strength was but plethoric ill. + +Yet still the loss of wealth is here supplied 145 +By arts, the splendid wrecks of former pride; +From these the feeble heart and long-fall'n mind +An easy compensation seem to find. +Here may be seen, in bloodless pomp array'd, +The paste-board triumph and the cavalcade; 150 +Processions form'd for piety and love, +A mistress or a saint in every grove. +By sports like these are all their cares beguil'd, +The sports of children satisfy the child; +Each nobler aim, repress'd by long control, 155 +Now sinks at last, or feebly mans the soul; +While low delights, succeeding fast behind, +In happier meanness occupy the mind: +As in those domes, where Caesars once bore sway, +Defac'd by time and tottering in decay, 160 +There in the ruin, heedless of the dead, +The shelter-seeking peasant builds his shed, +And, wond'ring man could want the larger pile, +Exults, and owns his cottage with a smile. + +My soul, turn from them; turn we to survey 165 +Where rougher climes a nobler race display, +Where the bleak Swiss their stormy mansions tread, +And force a churlish soil for scanty bread; +No product here the barren hills afford, +But man and steel, the soldier and his sword; 170 +No vernal blooms their torpid rocks array, +But winter ling'ring chills the lap of May; +No Zephyr fondly sues the mountain's breast, +But meteors glare, and stormy glooms invest. + +Yet still, e'en here, content can spread a charm, 175 +Redress the clime, and all its rage disarm. +Though poor the peasant's hut, his feasts though small, +He sees his little lot the lot of all; +Sees no contiguous palace rear its head +To shame the meanness of his humble shed; 180 +No costly lord the sumptuous banquet deal +To make him loathe his vegetable meal; +But calm, and bred in ignorance and toil, +Each wish contracting, fits him to the soil. +Cheerful at morn he wakes from short repose, 185 +Breasts the keen air, and carols as he goes; +With patient angle trolls the finny deep, +Or drives his vent'rous plough-share to the steep; +Or seeks the den where snow-tracks mark the way, +And drags the struggling savage into day. 190 +At night returning, every labour sped, +He sits him down the monarch of a shed; +Smiles by his cheerful fire, and round surveys +His children's looks, that brighten at the blaze; +While his lov'd partner, boastful of her hoard, 195 +Displays her cleanly platter on the board: +And haply too some pilgrim, thither led, +With many a tale repays the nightly bed. + +Thus every good his native wilds impart, +Imprints the patriot passion on his heart, 200 +And e'en those ills, that round his mansion rise, +Enhance the bliss his scanty fund supplies. +Dear is that shed to which his soul conforms, +And dear that hill which lifts him to the storms; +And as a child, when scaring sounds molest, 205 +Clings close and closer to the mother's breast, +So the loud torrent, and the whirlwind's roar, +But bind him to his native mountains more. + +Such are the charms to barren states assign'd; +Their wants but few, their wishes all confin'd. 210 +Yet let them only share the praises due, +If few their wants, their pleasures are but few; +For every want that stimulates the breast, +Becomes a source of pleasure when redrest. +Whence from such lands each pleasing science flies, +That first excites desire, and then supplies; 216 +Unknown to them, when sensual pleasures cloy, +To fill the languid pause with finer joy; +Unknown those powers that raise the soul to flame, +Catch every nerve, and vibrate through the frame. +Their level life is but a smould'ring fire, 221 +Unquench'd by want, unfann'd by strong desire; +Unfit for raptures, or, if raptures cheer +On some high festival of once a year, +In wild excess the vulgar breast takes fire, 225 +Till, buried in debauch, the bliss expire. + +But not their joys alone thus coarsely flow: +Their morals, like their pleasures, are but low; +For, as refinement stops, from sire to son +Unalter'd, unimprov'd the manners run; 230 +And love's and friendship's finely pointed dart +Fall blunted from each indurated heart. +Some sterner virtues o'er the mountain's breast +May sit, like falcons cow'ring on the nest; +But all the gentler morals, such as play 235 +Through life's more cultur'd walks, and charm the way, +These far dispers'd, on timorous pinions fly, +To sport and flutter in a kinder sky. + +To kinder skies, where gentler manners reign, +I turn; and France displays her bright domain. 240 +Gay sprightly land of mirth and social ease, +Pleas'd with thyself, whom all the world can please, +How often have I led thy sportive choir, +With tuneless pipe, beside the murmuring Loire! +Where shading elms along the margin grew, 245 +And freshen'd from the wave the Zephyr flew; +And haply, though my harsh touch falt'ring still, +But mock'd all tune, and marr'd the dancer's skill; +Yet would the village praise my wondrous power, +And dance, forgetful of the noon-tide hour. 250 +Alike all ages. Dames of ancient days +Have led their children through the mirthful maze, +And the gay grandsire, skill'd in gestic lore, +Has frisk'd beneath the burthen of threescore. + +So bless'd a life these thoughtless realms display, +Thus idly busy rolls their world away: 256 +Theirs are those arts that mind to mind endear, +For honour forms the social temper here: +Honour, that praise which real merit gains, +Or e'en imaginary worth obtains, 260 +Here passes current; paid from hand to hand, +It shifts in splendid traffic round the land: +From courts, to camps, to cottages it strays, +And all are taught an avarice of praise; 264 +They please, are pleas'd, they give to get esteem, +Till, seeming bless'd, they grow to what they seem. + +But while this softer art their bliss supplies, +It gives their follies also room to rise; +For praise too dearly lov'd, or warmly sought, +Enfeebles all internal strength of thought; 270 +And the weak soul, within itself unblest, +Leans for all pleasure on another's breast. +Hence ostentation here, with tawdry art, +Pants for the vulgar praise which fools impart; +Here vanity assumes her pert grimace, 275 +And trims her robes of frieze with copper lace; +Here beggar pride defrauds her daily cheer, +To boast one splendid banquet once a year; +The mind still turns where shifting fashion draws, +Nor weighs the solid worth of self-applause. 280 + +To men of other minds my fancy flies, +Embosom'd in the deep where Holland lies. +Methinks her patient sons before me stand, +Where the broad ocean leans against the land, +And, sedulous to stop the coming tide, 285 +Lift the tall rampire's artificial pride. +Onward, methinks, and diligently slow, +The firm-connected bulwark seems to grow; +Spreads its long arms amidst the wat'ry roar, +Scoops out an empire, and usurps the shore; 290 +While the pent ocean rising o'er the pile, +Sees an amphibious world beneath him smile; +The slow canal, the yellow-blossom'd vale, +The willow-tufted bank, the gliding sail, +The crowded mart, the cultivated plain, 295 +A new creation rescu'd from his reign. + +Thus, while around the wave-subjected soil +Impels the native to repeated toil, +Industrious habits in each bosom reign, +And industry begets a love of gain. 300 +Hence all the good from opulence that springs, +With all those ills superfluous treasure brings, +Are here displayed. Their much-lov'd wealth imparts +Convenience, plenty, elegance, and arts; +But view them closer, craft and fraud appear, 305 +E'en liberty itself is barter'd here. +At gold's superior charms all freedom flies, +The needy sell it, and the rich man buys; +A land of tyrants, and a den of slaves, +Here wretches seek dishonourable graves, 310 +And calmly bent, to servitude conform, +Dull as their lakes that slumber in the storm. + +Heavens! how unlike their Belgic sires of old! +Rough, poor, content, ungovernably bold; +War in each breast, and freedom on each brow; 315 +How much unlike the sons of Britain now! + +Fir'd at the sound, my genius spreads her wing, +And flies where Britain courts the western spring; +Where lawns extend that scorn Arcadian pride, +And brighter streams than fam'd Hydaspes glide. +There all around the gentlest breezes stray, 321 +There gentle music melts on ev'ry spray; +Creation's mildest charms are there combin'd, +Extremes are only in the master's mind! +Stern o'er each bosom reason holds her state, 325 +With daring aims irregularly great; +Pride in their port, defiance in their eye, +I see the lords of human kind pass by, +Intent on high designs, a thoughtful band, +By forms unfashion'd, fresh from Nature's hand; +Fierce in their native hardiness of soul, 331 +True to imagin'd right, above control, +While e'en the peasant boasts these rights to scan, +And learns to venerate himself as man. + +Thine, Freedom, thine the blessings pictur'd here, +Thine are those charms that dazzle and endear; 336 +Too bless'd, indeed, were such without alloy, +But foster'd e'en by Freedom, ills annoy: +That independence Britons prize too high, +Keeps man from man, and breaks the social tie; +The self-dependent lordlings stand alone, 341 +All claims that bind and sweeten life unknown; +Here by the bonds of nature feebly held, +Minds combat minds, repelling and repell'd. +Ferments arise, imprison'd factions roar, 345 +Repress'd ambition struggles round her shore, +Till over-wrought, the general system feels +Its motions stop, or frenzy fire the wheels. + +Nor this the worst. As nature's ties decay, +As duty, love, and honour fail to sway, 350 +Fictitious bonds, the bonds of wealth and law, +Still gather strength, and force unwilling awe. +Hence all obedience bows to these alone, +And talent sinks, and merit weeps unknown; +Time may come, when stripp'd of all her charms, +The land of scholars, and the nurse of arms, 356 +Where noble stems transmit the patriot flame, +Where kings have toil'd, and poets wrote for fame, +One sink of level avarice shall lie, +And scholars, soldiers, kings, unhonour'd die. 360 + +Yet think not, thus when Freedom's ills I state, +I mean to flatter kings, or court the great; +Ye powers of truth, that bid my soul aspire, +Far from my bosom drive the low desire; +And thou, fair Freedom, taught alike to feel 365 +The rabble's rage, and tyrant's angry steel; +Thou transitory flower, alike undone +By proud contempt, or favour's fostering sun, +Still may thy blooms the changeful clime endure, +I only would repress them to secure: 370 +For just experience tells, in every soil, +That those who think must govern those that toil; +And all that freedom's highest aims can reach, +Is but to lay proportion'd loads on each. +Hence, should one order disproportion'd grow, 375 +Its double weight must ruin all below. + +O then how blind to all that truth requires, +Who think it freedom when a part aspires! +Calm is my soul, nor apt to rise in arms, +Except when fast-approaching danger warms: 380 +But when contending chiefs blockade the throne, +Contracting regal power to stretch their own; +When I behold a factious band agree +To call it freedom when themselves are free; +Each wanton judge new penal statutes draw, 385 +Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law; +The wealth of climes, where savage nations roam, +Pillag'd from slaves to purchase slaves at home; +Fear, pity, justice, indignation start, +Tear off reserve, and bare my swelling heart; 390 +Till half a patriot, half a coward grown, +I fly from petty tyrants to the throne. + +Yes, brother, curse with me that baleful hour, +When first ambition struck at regal power; +And thus polluting honour in its source, 395 +Gave wealth to sway the mind with double force. +Have we not seen, round Britain's peopled shore, +Her useful sons exchang'd for useless ore? +Seen all her triumphs but destruction haste, +Like flaring tapers bright'ning as they waste; 400 +Seen opulence, her grandeur to maintain, +Lead stern depopulation in her train, +And over fields where scatter'd hamlets rose, +In barren solitary pomp repose? +Have we not seen, at pleasure's lordly call, 405 +The smiling long-frequented village fall? +Beheld the duteous son, the sire decay'd, +The modest matron, and the blushing maid, +Forc'd from their homes, a melancholy train, +To traverse climes beyond the western main; 410 +Where wild Oswego spreads her swamps around, +And Niagara stuns with thund'ring sound? + +E'en now, perhaps as there some pilgrim strays +Through tangled forests, and through dangerous ways; +Where beasts with man divided empire claim, 415 +And the brown Indian marks with murd'rous aim; +There, while above the giddy tempest flies, +And all around distressful yells arise, +The pensive exile, bending with his woe, +To stop too fearful, and too faint to go, 420 +Casts a long look where England's glories shine, +And bids his bosom sympathise with mine. + +Vain, very vain, my weary search to find +That bliss which only centres in the mind: +Why have I stray'd from pleasure and repose, 425 +To seek a good each government bestows? +In every government, though terrors reign, +Though tyrant kings, or tyrant laws restrain, +How small, of all that human hearts endure, +That part which laws or kings can cause or cure. +Still to ourselves in every place consign'd, 431 +Our own felicity we make or find: +With secret course, which no loud storms annoy, +Glides the smooth current of domestic joy. +The lifted axe, the agonising wheel, 435 +Luke's iron crown, and Damiens' bed of steel, +To men remote from power but rarely known, +Leave reason, faith, and conscience all our own. + + + + + + + + +THE DESERTED VILLAGE + +DEDICATION + +TO SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS + +DEAR SIR, + +I can have no expectations in an address of this kind, either to add to +your reputation, or to establish my own. You can gain nothing from my +admiration, as I am ignorant of that art in which you are said to excel; +and I may lose much by the severity of your judgment, as few have a +juster taste in poetry than you. Setting interest therefore aside, to +which I never paid much attention, I must be indulged at present in +following my affections. The only dedication I ever made was to my +brother, because I loved him better than most other men. He is since +dead. Permit me to inscribe this Poem to you. + +How far you may be pleased with the versification and mere mechanical +parts of this attempt, I don't pretend to enquire; but I know you will +object (and indeed several of our best and wisest friends concur in the +opinion) that the depopulation it deplores is no where to be seen, and +the disorders it laments are only to be found in the poet's own +imagination. To this I can scarce make any other answer than that I +sincerely believe what I have written; that I have taken all possible +pains, in my country excursions, for these four or five years past, to +be certain of what I allege; and that all my views and enquiries have +led me to believe those miseries real, which I here attempt to display. +But this is not the place to enter into an enquiry, whether the country +be depopulating or not; the discussion would take up much room, and I +should prove myself, at best, an indifferent politician, to tire the +reader with a long preface, when I want his unfatigued attention to a +long poem. + +In regretting the depopulation of the country, I inveigh against the +increase of our luxuries; and here also I expect the shout of modern +politicians against me. For twenty or thirty years past, it has been the +fashion to consider luxury as one of the greatest national advantages; +and all the wisdom of antiquity in that particular, as erroneous. Still +however, I must remain a professed ancient on that head, and continue to +think those luxuries prejudicial to states, by which so many vices are +introduced, and so many kingdoms have been undone. Indeed so much has +been poured out of late on the other side of the question, that, merely +for the sake of novelty and variety, one would sometimes wish to be in +the right. + + I am, Dear Sir, + Your sincere friend, and ardent admirer, + OLIVER GOLDSMITH. + + + + +THE DESERTED VILLAGE + +SWEET AUBURN! loveliest village of the plain, +Where health and plenty cheer'd the labouring swain, +Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid, +And parting summer's lingering blooms delay'd: +Dear lovely bowers of innocence and ease, 5 +Seats of my youth, when every sport could please, +How often have I loiter'd o'er thy green, +Where humble happiness endear'd each scene; +How often have I paus'd on every charm, +The shelter'd cot, the cultivated farm, 10 +The never-failing brook, the busy mill, +The decent church that topp'd the neighbouring hill, +The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade, +For talking age and whisp'ring lovers made; +How often have I bless'd the coming day, 15 +When toil remitting lent its turn to play, +And all the village train, from labour free, +Led up their sports beneath the spreading tree; +While many a pastime circled in the shade, +The young contending as the old survey'd; 20 +And many a gambol frolick'd o'er the ground, +And sleights of art and feats of strength went round; +And still as each repeated pleasure tir'd, +Succeeding sports the mirthful band inspir'd; +The dancing pair that simply sought renown, 25 +By holding out to tire each other down; +The swain mistrustless of his smutted face, +While secret laughter titter'd round the place; +The bashful virgin's side-long looks of love, 29 +The matron's glance that would those looks reprove: +These were thy charms, sweet village; sports like these, +With sweet succession, taught e'en toil to please; +These round thy bowers their cheerful influence shed, +These were thy charms--But all these charms are fled. + +Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn, 35 +Thy sports are fled, and all thy charms withdrawn; +Amidst thy bowers the tyrant's hand is seen, +And desolation saddens all thy green: +One only master grasps the whole domain, +And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain: 40 +No more thy glassy brook reflects the day, +But chok'd with sedges, works its weedy way. +Along thy glades, a solitary guest, +The hollow-sounding bittern guards its nest; +Amidst thy desert walks the lapwing flies, 45 +And tires their echoes with unvaried cries. +Sunk are thy bowers in shapeless ruin all, +And the long grass o'ertops the mould'ring wall; +And trembling, shrinking from the spoiler's hand, +Far, far away, thy children leave the land. 50 + +Ill fares the land, to hast'ning ills a prey, +Where wealth accumulates, and men decay: +Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade; +A breath can make them, as a breath has made; +But a bold peasantry, their country's pride, +When once destroy'd, can never be supplied. + +A time there was, ere England's griefs began, +When every rood of ground maintain'd its man; +For him light labour spread her wholesome store, +Just gave what life requir'd, but gave no more: 60 +His best companions, innocence and health; +And his best riches, ignorance of wealth. + +But times are alter'd; trade's unfeeling train +Usurp the land and dispossess the swain; +Along the lawn, where scatter'd hamlets rose, 65 +Unwieldy wealth, and cumbrous pomp repose; +And every want to opulence allied, +And every pang that folly pays to pride. +Those gentle hours that plenty bade to bloom, +Those calm desires that ask'd but little room, 70 +Those healthful sports that grac'd the peaceful scene, +Liv'd in each look, and brighten'd all the green; +These, far departing, seek a kinder shore, +And rural mirth and manners are no more. + +Sweet AUBURN! parent of the blissful hour, 75 +Thy glades forlorn confess the tyrant's power. +Here as I take my solitary rounds, +Amidst thy tangling walks, and ruin'd grounds, +And, many a year elaps'd, return to view +Where once the cottage stood, the hawthorn grew, +Remembrance wakes with all her busy train, 81 +Swells at my breast, and turns the past to pain. + +In all my wand'rings round this world of care, +In all my griefs--and GOD has given my share-- +I still had hopes my latest hours to crown, 85 +Amidst these humble bowers to lay me down; +To husband out life's taper at the close, +And keep the flame from wasting by repose. +I still had hopes, for pride attends us still, +Amidst the swains to show my book-learn'd skill, 90 +Around my fire an evening group to draw, +And tell of all I felt, and all I saw; +And, as a hare, whom hounds and horns pursue, +Pants to the place from whence at first she flew, +I still had hopes, my long vexations pass'd, 95 +Here to return--and die at home at last. + +O blest retirement, friend to life's decline, +Retreats from care, that never must be mine, +How happy he who crowns in shades like these, +A youth of labour with an age of ease; 100 +Who quits a world where strong temptations try +And, since 'tis hard to combat, learns to fly! +For him no wretches, born to work and weep, +Explore the mine, or tempt the dangerous deep; +No surly porter stands in guilty state 105 +To spurn imploring famine from the gate; +But on he moves to meet his latter end, +Angels around befriending Virtue's friend; +Bends to the grave with unperceiv'd decay, +While Resignation gently slopes the way; 110 +And, all his prospects bright'ning to the last, +His Heaven commences ere the world be pass'd! + +Sweet was the sound, when oft at evening's close +Up yonder hill the village murmur rose; +There, as I pass'd with careless steps and slow, 115 +The mingling notes came soften'd from below; +The swain responsive as the milk-maid sung, +The sober herd that low'd to meet their young; +The noisy geese that gabbled o'er the pool, +The playful children just let loose from school; 120 +The watchdog's voice that bay'd the whisp'ring wind, +And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind; +These all in sweet confusion sought the shade, +And fill'd each pause the nightingale had made. +But now the sounds of population fail, 125 +No cheerful murmurs fluctuate in the gale, +No busy steps the grass-grown foot-way tread, +For all the bloomy flush of life is fled. +All but yon widow'd, solitary thing +That feebly bends beside the plashy spring; 130 +She, wretched matron, forc'd in age, for bread, +To strip the brook with mantling cresses spread, +To pick her wintry faggot from the thorn, +To seek her nightly shed, and weep till morn; +She only left of all the harmless train, 135 +The sad historian of the pensive plain. + +Near yonder copse, where once the garden smil'd, +And still where many a garden flower grows wild; +There, where a few torn shrubs the place disclose, +The village preacher's modest mansion rose. 140 +A man he was to all the country dear, +And passing rich with forty pounds a year; +Remote from towns he ran his godly race, +Nor e'er had chang'd, nor wished to change his place; +Unpractis'd he to fawn, or seek for power, 145 +By doctrines fashion'd to the varying hour; +Far other aims his heart had learned to prize, +More skill'd to raise the wretched than to rise. +His house was known to all the vagrant train, +He chid their wand'rings, but reliev'd their pain; +The long-remember'd beggar was his guest, 151 +Whose beard descending swept his aged breast; +The ruin'd spendthrift, now no longer proud, +Claim'd kindred there, and had his claims allow'd; +The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay, 155 +Sat by his fire, and talk'd the night away; +Wept o'er his wounds, or tales of sorrow done, +Shoulder'd his crutch, and show'd how fields were won. +Pleas'd with his guests, the good man learn'd to glow, +And quite forgot their vices in their woe; 160 +Careless their merits, or their faults to scan, +His pity gave ere charity began. + +Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride, +And e'en his failings lean'd to Virtue's side; +But in his duty prompt at every call, 165 +He watch'd and wept, he pray'd and felt, for all. +And, as a bird each fond endearment tries +To tempt its new-fledg'd offspring to the skies, +He tried each art, reprov'd each dull delay, +Allur'd to brighter worlds, and led the way. 170 + +Beside the bed where parting life was laid, +And sorrow, guilt, and pain, by turns dismay'd, +The reverend champion stood. At his control, +Despair and anguish fled the struggling soul; +Comfort came down the trembling wretch to raise, +And his last falt'ring accents whisper'd praise. 176 + +At church, with meek and unaffected grace, +His looks adorn'd the venerable place; +Truth from his lips prevail'd with double sway, +And fools, who came to scoff, remain'd to pray. 180 +The service pass'd, around the pious man, +With steady zeal, each honest rustic ran; +Even children follow'd with endearing wile, +And pluck'd his gown, to share the good man's smile. +His ready smile a parent's warmth express'd, 185 +Their welfare pleas'd him, and their cares distress'd; +To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given, +But all his serious thoughts had rest in Heaven. +As some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form, 189 +Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm, +Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, +Eternal sunshine settles on its head. + +Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way, +With blossom'd furze unprofitably gay, +There, in his noisy mansion, skill'd to rule, 195 +The village master taught his little school; +A man severe he was, and stern to view; +I knew him well, and every truant knew; +Well had the boding tremblers learn'd to trace +The day's disasters in his morning face; 200 +Full well they laugh'd, with counterfeited glee, +At all his jokes, for many a joke had he; +Full well the busy whisper, circling round, +Convey'd the dismal tidings when he frown'd; +Yet he was kind; or if severe in aught, 205 +The love he bore to learning was in fault; +The village all declar'd how much he knew; +'Twas certain he could write, and cypher too; +Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage, +And e'en the story ran that he could gauge. 210 +In arguing too, the parson own'd his skill, +For e'en though vanquish'd, he could argue still; +While words of learned length and thund'ring sound +Amazed the gazing rustics rang'd around, +And still they gaz'd, and still the wonder grew, 215 +That one small head could carry all he knew. + +But past is all his fame. The very spot +Where many a time he triumph'd, is forgot. +Near yonder thorn, that lifts its head on high, 219 +Where once the sign-post caught the passing eye, +Low lies that house where nut-brown draughts inspir'd, +Where grey-beard mirth and smiling toil retir'd, +Where village statesmen talk'd with looks profound, +And news much older than their ale went round. +Imagination fondly stoops to trace 225 +The parlour splendours of that festive place; +The white-wash'd wall, the nicely sanded floor, +The varnish'd clock that click'd behind the door; +The chest contriv'd a double debt to pay, +A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day; 230 +The pictures plac'd for ornament and use, +The twelve good rules, the royal game of goose; +The hearth, except when winter chill'd the day, +With aspen boughs, and flowers, and fennel gay; +While broken tea-cups, wisely kept for show, 135 +Rang'd o'er the chimney, glisten'd in a row. + +Vain, transitory splendours! Could not all +Reprieve the tottering mansion from its fall! +Obscure it sinks, nor shall it more impart +An hour's importance to the poor man's heart; 240 +Thither no more the peasant shall repair +To sweet oblivion of his daily care; +No more the farmer's news, the barber's tale, +No more the wood-man's ballad shall prevail; +No more the smith his dusky brown shall clear, 245 +Relax his pond'rous strength, and lean to hear; +The host himself no longer shall be found +Careful to see the mantling bliss go round; +Nor the coy maid, half willing to be press'd, +Shall kiss the cup to pass it to the rest. 250 + +Yes! let the rich deride, the proud disdain, +These simple blessings of the lowly train; +To me more dear, congenial to my heart, +One native charm, than all the gloss of art; +Spontaneous joys, where Nature has its play, 255 +The soul adopts, and owns their first-born sway; +Lightly they frolic o'er the vacant mind, +Unenvied, unmolested, unconfin'd: +But the long pomp, the midnight masquerade, +With all the freaks of wanton wealth array'd, 260 +In these, ere triflers half their wish obtain, +The toiling pleasure sickens into pain; +And, e'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, +The heart distrusting asks, if this be joy. + +Ye friends to truth, ye statesmen, who survey +The rich man's joys increase, the poor's decay, 266 +'Tis yours to judge, how wide the limits stand +Between a splendid and a happy land. +Proud swells the tide with loads of freighted ore, +And shouting Folly hails them from her shore; 270 +Hoards, e'en beyond the miser's wish abound, +And rich men flock from all the world around. +Yet count our gains. This wealth is but a name +That leaves our useful products still the same. +Nor so the loss. The man of wealth and pride 275 +Takes up a space that many poor supplied; +Space for his lake, his park's extended bounds, +Space for his horses, equipage, and hounds; +The robe that wraps his limbs in silken sloth +Has robb'd the neighbouring fields of half their growth, +His seat, where solitary sports are seen, 281 +Indignant spurns the cottage from the green; +Around the world each needful product flies, +For all the luxuries the world supplies: +While thus the land adorn'd for pleasure, all 285 +In barren splendour feebly waits the fall. + +As some fair female unadorn'd and plain, +Secure to please while youth confirms her reign, +Slights every borrow'd charm that dress supplies, +Nor shares with art the triumph of her eyes: 290 +But when those charms are pass'd, for charms are frail, +When time advances, and when lovers fail, +She then shines forth, solicitous to bless, +In all the glaring impotence of dress. +Thus fares the land, by luxury betray'd, 295 +In nature's simplest charms at first array'd; +But verging to decline, its splendours rise, +Its vistas strike, its palaces surprise; +While scourg'd by famine from the smiling land, +The mournful peasant leads his humble band; 300 +And while he sinks, without one arm to save, +The country blooms--a garden, and a grave. + +Where then, ah! where, shall poverty reside, +To 'scape the pressure of continuous pride? +If to some common's fenceless limits stray'd, 305 +He drives his flock to pick the scanty blade, +Those fenceless fields the sons of wealth divide, +And e'en the bare-worn common is denied. + +If to the city sped--What waits him there? +To see profusion that he must not share/ 310 +To see ten thousand baneful arts combin'd +To pamper luxury, and thin mankind; +To see those joys the sons of pleasure know +Extorted from his fellow creature's woe. +Here, while the courtier glitters in brocade, 315 +There the pale artist plies the sickly trade; +Here, while the proud their long-drawn pomps display, +There the black gibbet glooms beside the way. +The dome where Pleasure holds her midnight reign +Here, richly deck'd, admits the gorgeous train; 320 +Tumultuous grandeur crowds the blazing square, +The rattling chariots clash, the torches glare. +Sure scenes like these no troubles e'er annoy! +Sure these denote one universal joy! +Are these thy serious thoughts?--Ah, turn thine eyes +Where the poor houseless shiv'ring female lies. 326 +She once, perhaps, in village plenty bless'd, +Has wept at tales of innocence distress'd; +Her modest looks the cottage might adorn, +Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn; 330 +Now lost to all; her friends, her virtue fled, +Near her betrayer's door she lays her head, +And, pinch'd with cold, and shrinking from the shower, +With heavy heart deplores that luckless hour, +When idly first, ambitious of the town, 335 +She left her wheel and robes of country brown. + +Do thine, sweet AUBURN, thine, the loveliest train, +Do thy fair tribes participate her pain? +E'en now, perhaps by cold and hunger led, +At proud men's doors they ask a little bread! 340 + +Ah, no. To distant climes, a dreary scene, +Where half the convex world intrudes between, +Through torrid tracts with fainting steps they go, +Where wild Altama murmurs to their woe. +Far different there from all that charm'd before, 345 +The various terrors of that horrid shore; +Those blazing suns that dart a downward ray, +And fiercely shed intolerable day; +Those matted woods where birds forget to sing, +But silent bats in drowsy clusters cling; 350 +Those pois'nous fields with rank luxuriance crown'd, +Where the dark scorpion gathers death around; +Where at each step the stranger fears to wake +The rattling terrors of the vengeful snake; +Where crouching tigers wait their hapless prey, 355 +And savage men more murd'rous still than they; +While oft in whirls the mad tornado flies, +Mingling the ravag'd landscape with the skies. +Far different these from every former scene, +The cooling brook, the grassy-vested green, 360 +The breezy covert of the warbling grove, +That only shelter'd thefts of harmless love. + +Good heaven! what sorrows gloom'd that parting day, +That call'd them from their native walks away; +When the poor exiles, every pleasure pass'd, 365 +Hung round their bowers, and fondly look'd their last, +And took a long farewell, and wish'd in vain +For seats like these beyond the western main; +And shudd'ring still to face the distant deep, +Return'd and wept, and still return'd to weep. 370 +The good old sire, the first prepar'd to go +To new-found worlds, and wept for others' woe; +But for himself, in conscious virtue brave, +He only wish'd for worlds beyond the grave. +His lovely daughter, lovlier in her tears, 375 +The fond companion of his helpless years, +Silent went next, neglectful of her charms, +And left a lover's for a father's arms. +With louder plaints the mother spoke her woes, +And bless'd the cot where every pleasure rose 380 +And kiss'd her thoughtless babes with many a tear, +And clasp'd them close, in sorrow doubly dear; +Whilst her fond husband strove to lend relief +In all the silent manliness of grief. + +O Luxury! thou curs'd by Heaven's decree, 385 +How ill exchang'd are things like these for thee! +How do thy potions, with insidious joy +Diffuse their pleasures only to destroy! +Kingdoms, by thee, to sickly greatness grown, +Boast of a florid vigour not their own; 390 +At every draught more large and large they grow, +A bloated mass of rank unwieldy woe; +Till sapp'd their strength, and every part unsound, +Down, down they sink, and spread a ruin round. + +E'en now the devastation is begun, 395 +And half the business of destruction done; +E'en now, methinks, as pond'ring here I stand, +I see the rural virtues leave the land: +Down where yon anchoring vessel spreads the sail, +That idly waiting flaps with ev'ry gale, 500 +Downward they move, a melancholy band, +Pass from the shore, and darken all the strand. +Contented toil, and hospitable care, +And kind connubial tenderness, are there; +And piety, with wishes plac'd above, 405 +And steady loyalty, and faithful love. +And thou, sweet Poetry, thou loveliest maid, +Still first to fly where sensual joys invade; +Unfit in these degenerate times of shame, +To catch the heart, or strike for honest fame; 410 +Dear charming nymph, neglected and decried, +My shame in crowds, my solitary pride; +Thou source of all my bliss, and all my woe, +That found'st me poor at first, and keep'st me so; +Thou guide by which the nobler arts excel, 415 +Thou nurse of every virtue, fare thee well! +Farewell, and Oh! where'er thy voice be tried, +On Torno's cliffs, or Pambamarca's side, +Whether where equinoctial fervours glow, +Or winter wraps the polar world in snow, 420 +Still let thy voice, prevailing over time, +Redress the rigours of th' inclement clime; +Aid slighted truth; with thy persuasive strain +Teach erring man to spurn the rage of gain; +Teach him, that states of native strength possess'd, +Though very poor, may still be very bless'd; 426 +That trade's proud empire hastes to swift decay, +As ocean sweeps the labour'd mole away; +While self-dependent power can time defy, +As rocks resist the billows and the sky. 430 + + + + + + + +LYRICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PIECES + + +PART OF A PROLOGUE WRITTEN AND SPOKEN BY THE POET LABERIUS +A ROMAN KNIGHT, WHOM CAESAR FORCED UPON THE STAGE + +PRESERVED BY MACROBIUS. + +WHAT! no way left to shun th' inglorious stage, +And save from infamy my sinking age! +Scarce half alive, oppress'd with many a year, +What in the name of dotage drives me here? +A time there was, when glory was my guide, 5 +Nor force nor fraud could turn my steps aside; +Unaw'd by pow'r, and unappall'd by fear, +With honest thrift I held my honour dear; +But this vile hour disperses all my store, +And all my hoard of honour is no more. 10 +For ah! too partial to my life's decline, +Caesar persuades, submission must be mine; +Him I obey, whom heaven itself obeys, +Hopeless of pleasing, yet inclin'd to please. +Here then at once, I welcome every shame, 15 +And cancel at threescore a life of fame; +No more my titles shall my children tell, +The old buffoon will fit my name as well; +This day beyond its term my fate extends, +For life is ended when our honour ends. 20 + + + + + +ON A BEAUTIFUL YOUTH STRUCK BLIND WITH LIGHTNING + +('Imitated from the Spanish'.) + +SURE 'twas by Providence design'd, +Rather in pity, than in hate, +That he should be, like Cupid, blind, +To save him from Narcissus' fate. + + + + + +THE GIFT + +TO IRIS, IN BOW STREET, CONVENT GARDEN + +SAY, cruel IRIS, pretty rake, +Dear mercenary beauty, +What annual offering shall I make, +Expressive of my duty? + +My heart, a victim to thine eyes, 5 +Should I at once deliver, +Say, would the angry fair one prize +The gift, who slights the giver? + +A bill, a jewel, watch, or toy, +My rivals give--and let 'em; 10 +If gems, or gold, impart a joy, +I'll give them--when I get 'em. + +I'll give--but not the full-blown rose, +Or rose-bud more in fashion; +Such short-liv'd offerings but disclose 15 +A transitory passion. + +I'll give thee something yet unpaid, +Not less sincere, than civil: +I'll give thee--Ah! too charming maid, +I'll give thee--To the devil. 20 + + + + + +THE LOGICIANS REFUTED + +IN IMITATION OF DEAN SWIFT + +LOGICIANS have but ill defin'd +As rational, the human kind; +Reason, they say, belongs to man, +But let them prove it if they can. +Wise Aristotle and Smiglecius, 5 +By ratiocinations specious, +Have strove to prove with great precision, +With definition and division, +'Homo est ratione praeditum',-- +But for my soul I cannot credit 'em; 10 +And must in spite of them maintain, +That man and all his ways are vain; +And that this boasted lord of nature +Is both a weak and erring creature; +That instinct is a surer guide 15 +Than reason-boasting mortals' pride; +And that brute beasts are far before 'em, +'Deus est anima brutorum'. +Who ever knew an honest brute +At law his neighbour prosecute, 20 +Bring action for assault and battery, +Or friend beguile with lies and flattery? +O'er plains they ramble unconfin'd, +No politics disturb their mind; +They eat their meals, and take their sport, 25 +Nor know who's in or out at court; +They never to the levee go +To treat as dearest friend, a foe; +They never importune his grace, +Nor ever cringe to men in place; 30 +Nor undertake a dirty job, +Nor draw the quill to write for B--b. +Fraught with invective they ne'er go +To folks at Pater-Noster-Row; +No judges, fiddlers, dancing-masters, 35 +No pick-pockets, or poetasters, +Are known to honest quadrupeds; +No single brute his fellow leads. +Brutes never meet in bloody fray, +Nor cut each others' throats, for pay. 40 +Of beasts, it is confess'd, the ape +Comes nearest us in human shape; +Like man he imitates each fashion, +And malice is his ruling passion; +But both in malice and grimaces 45 +A courtier any ape surpasses. +Behold him humbly cringing wait +Upon a minister of state; +View him soon after to inferiors, +Aping the conduct of superiors; 50 +He promises with equal air, +And to perform takes equal care. +He in his turn finds imitators; +At court, the porters, lacqueys, waiters, +Their master's manners still contract, 55 +And footmen, lords and dukes can act. +Thus at the court both great an small +Behave alike--for all ape all. + + + + +A SONNET + +WEEPING, murmuring, complaining, +Lost to every gay delight; +MYRA, too sincere for feigning, +Fears th' approaching bridal night. + +Yet, why impair thy bright perfection? 5 +Or dim thy beauty with a tear? +Had MYRA followed my direction, +She long had wanted cause of fear. + + + + +STANZAS ON THE TAKING OF QUEBEC, AND DEATH OF +GENERAL WOLFE + +AMIDST the clamour of exulting joys, +Which triumph forces from the patriot heart, +Grief dares to mingle her soul-piercing voice, +And quells the raptures which from pleasures start. + +O WOLFE! to thee a streaming flood of woe, 5 +Sighing we pay, and think e'en conquest dear; +QUEBEC in vain shall teach our breast to glow, +Whilst thy sad fate extorts the heart-wrung tear. + +Alive the foe thy dreadful vigour fled, +And saw thee fall with joy-pronouncing eyes: 10 +Yet they shall know thou conquerest, though dead-- +Since from thy tomb a thousand heroes rise! + + + + +AN ELEGY ON THAT GLORY OF HER SEX, +MRS. MARY BLAIZE + +GOOD people all, with one accord, +Lament for Madam BLAIZE, +Who never wanted a good word-- +'From those who spoke her praise'. + +The needy seldom pass'd her door, 5 +And always found her kind; +She freely lent to all the poor,-- +'Who left a pledge behind'. + +She strove the neighbourhood to please, +With manners wond'rous winning, 10 +And never follow'd wicked ways,-- +'Unless when she was sinning'. + +At church, in silks and satins new, +With hoop of monstrous size, +She never slumber'd in her pew,-- 15 +'But when she shut her eyes'. + +Her love was sought, I do aver, +By twenty beaux and more; +The king himself has follow'd her,-- +'When she has walk'd before'. 20 + +But now her wealth and finery fled, +Her hangers-on cut short all; +The doctors found, when she was dead,-- +'Her last disorder mortal'. + +Let us lament, in sorrow sore, 25 +For Kent-street well may say, +That had she liv'd a twelve-month more,-- +'She had not died to-day'. + + + + +DESCRIPTION OF AN AUTHOR'S BEDCHAMBER + +WHERE the Red Lion flaring o'er the way, +Invites each passing stranger that can pay; +Where Calvert's butt, and Parsons' black champagne, +Regale the drabs and bloods of Drury-lane; +There in a lonely room, from bailiffs snug, 5 +The Muse found Scroggen stretch'd beneath a rug; +A window, patch'd with paper, lent a ray, +That dimly show'd the state in which he lay; +The sanded floor that grits beneath the tread; +The humid wall with paltry pictures spread: 10 +The royal game of goose was there in view, +And the twelve rules the royal martyr drew; +The seasons, fram'd with listing, found a place, +And brave prince William show'd his lamp-black face: +The morn was cold, he views with keen desire 15 +The rusty grate unconscious of a fire; +With beer and milk arrears the frieze was scor'd, +And five crack'd teacups dress'd the chimney board; +A nightcap deck'd his brows instead of bay, +A cap by night--a stocking all the day! 20 + + + + + +ON SEEING MRS. ** PERFORM IN THE CHARACTER OF **** + +FOR you, bright fair, the nine address their lays, +And tune my feeble voice to sing thy praise. +The heartfelt power of every charm divine, +Who can withstand their all-commanding shine? +See how she moves along with every grace, 5 +While soul-brought tears steal down each shining face. +She speaks! 'tis rapture all, and nameless bliss, +Ye gods! what transport e'er compared to this. +As when in Paphian groves the Queen of Love +With fond complaint addressed the listening Jove, 10 +'Twas joy, and endless blisses all around, +And rocks forgot their hardness at the sound. +Then first, at last even Jove was taken in, +And felt her charms, without disguise, within. + + + + + +OF THE DEATH OF THE RIGHT HON. *** + +YE Muses, pour the pitying tear +For Pollio snatch'd away; +O! had he liv'd another year!-- +'He had not died to-day'. + +O! were he born to bless mankind, 5 +In virtuous times of yore, +Heroes themselves had fallen behind!-- +'Whene'er he went before'. + +How sad the groves and plains appear, +And sympathetic sheep; 10 +Even pitying hills would drop a tear!-- +'If hills could learn to weep'. + +His bounty in exalted strain +Each bard might well display; +Since none implor'd relief in vain!-- 15 +'That went reliev'd away'. + +And hark! I hear the tuneful throng +His obsequies forbid, +He still shall live, shall live as long!-- +'As ever dead man did'. 20 + + + + + +AN EPIGRAM +ADDRESSED TO THE GENTLEMEN REFLECTED ON IN THE ROSCIAD, +A POEM, BY THE AUTHOR + + Worried with debts and past all hopes of bail, + His pen he prostitutes t' avoid a gaol. + ROSCOM. + + +LET not the 'hungry' Bavius' angry stroke +Awake resentment, or your rage provoke; +But pitying his distress, let virtue shine, +And giving each your bounty, 'let him dine'; +For thus retain'd, as learned counsel can, 5 +Each case, however bad, he'll new japan; +And by a quick transition, plainly show +'Twas no defect of yours, but 'pocket low', +That caused his 'putrid kennel' to o'erflow. + + + + +TO G. C. AND R. L. + +'TWAS you, or I, or he, or all together, +'Twas one, both, three of them, they know not whether; +This, I believe, between us great or small, +You, I, he, wrote it not--'twas Churchill's all. + + + + + +TRANSLATION OF A SOUTH AMERICAN ODE + +IN all my Enna's beauties blest, +Amidst profusion still I pine; +For though she gives me up her breast, +Its panting tenant is not mine. + + + + + +THE DOUBLE TRANSFORMATION + +A TALE + +SECLUDED from domestic strife, +Jack Book-worm led a college life; +A fellowship at twenty-five +Made him the happiest man alive; +He drank his glass and crack'd his joke, 5 +And freshmen wonder'd as he spoke. + +Such pleasures, unalloy'd with care, +Could any accident impair? +Could Cupid's shaft at length transfix +Our swain, arriv'd at thirty-six? 10 +O had the archer ne'er come down +To ravage in a country town! +Or Flavia been content to stop +At triumphs in a Fleet-street shop. +O had her eyes forgot to blaze! 15 +Or Jack had wanted eyes to gaze. +O! -- But let exclamation cease, +Her presence banish'd all his peace. +So with decorum all things carried; 19 +Miss frown'd, and blush'd, and then was -- married. + +Need we expose to vulgar sight +The raptures of the bridal night? +Need we intrude on hallow'd ground, +Or draw the curtains clos'd around? +Let it suffice, that each had charms; 25 +He clasp'd a goddess in his arms; +And though she felt his usage rough, +Yet in a man 'twas well enough. + +The honey-moon like lightning flew, +The second brought its transports too. 30 +A third, a fourth, were not amiss, +The fifth was friendship mix'd with bliss: +But when a twelvemonth pass'd away, +Jack found his goddess made of clay; +Found half the charms that deck'd her face 35 +Arose from powder, shreds, or lace; +But still the worst remain'd behind, +That very face had robb'd her mind. + +Skill'd in no other arts was she +But dressing, patching, repartee; 40 +And, just as humour rose or fell, +By turns a slattern or a belle; +'Tis true she dress'd with modern grace, +Half naked at a ball or race; +But when at home, at board or bed, 45 +Five greasy nightcaps wrapp'd her head. +Could so much beauty condescend +To be a dull domestic friend? +Could any curtain-lectures bring +To decency so fine a thing? 50 +In short, by night, 'twas fits or fretting; +By day, 'twas gadding or coquetting. +Fond to be seen, she kept a bevy +Of powder'd coxcombs at her levy; +The 'squire and captain took their stations, 55 +And twenty other near relations; +Jack suck'd his pipe, and often broke +A sigh in suffocating smoke; +While all their hours were pass'd between +Insulting repartee or spleen. 60 + +Thus as her faults each day were known, +He thinks her features coarser grown; +He fancies every vice she shows, +Or thins her lip, or points her nose: +Whenever rage or envy rise, 65 +How wide her mouth, how wild her eyes! +He knows not how, but so it is, +Her face is grown a knowing phiz; +And, though her fops are wond'rous civil, +He thinks her ugly as the devil. 70 + +Now, to perplex the ravell'd noose, +As each a different way pursues, +While sullen or loquacious strife, +Promis'd to hold them on for life, +That dire disease, whose ruthless power 75 +Withers the beauty's transient flower: +Lo! the small-pox, whose horrid glare +Levell'd its terrors at the fair; +And, rifling ev'ry youthful grace, +Left but the remnant of a face. 80 + +The glass, grown hateful to her sight, +Reflected now a perfect fright: +Each former art she vainly tries +To bring back lustre to her eyes. +In vain she tries her paste and creams, 85 +To smooth her skin, or hide its seams; +Her country beaux and city cousins, +Lovers no more, flew off by dozens: +The 'squire himself was seen to yield, +And e'en the captain quit the field. 90 + +Poor Madam, now condemn'd to hack +The rest of life with anxious Jack, +Perceiving others fairly flown, +Attempted pleasing him alone. +Jack soon was dazzl'd to behold 95 +Her present face surpass the old; +With modesty her cheeks are dy'd, +Humility displaces pride; +For tawdry finery is seen +A person ever neatly clean: 100 +No more presuming on her sway, +She learns good-nature every day; +Serenely gay, and strict in duty, +Jack finds his wife a perfect beauty. + + + + + +A NEW SIMILE + +IN THE MANNER OF SWIFT + +LONG had I sought in vain to find +A likeness for the scribbling kind; +The modern scribbling kind, who write +In wit, and sense, and nature's spite: +Till reading, I forget what day on, 5 +A chapter out of Tooke's Pantheon, +I think I met with something there, +To suit my purpose to a hair; +But let us not proceed too furious, +First please to turn to god Mercurius; 10 +You'll find him pictur'd at full length +In book the second, page the tenth: +The stress of all my proofs on him I lay, +And now proceed we to our simile. + +Imprimis, pray observe his hat, 15 +Wings upon either side--mark that. +Well! what is it from thence we gather? +Why these denote a brain of feather. +A brain of feather! very right, +With wit that's flighty, learning light; 20 +Such as to modern bard's decreed: +A just comparison,--proceed. + +In the next place, his feet peruse, +Wings grow again from both his shoes; +Design'd, no doubt, their part to bear, 25 +And waft his godship through the air; +And here my simile unites, +For in a modern poet's flights, +I'm sure it may be justly said, +His feet are useful as his head. 30 + +Lastly, vouchsafe t'observe his hand, +Filled with a snake-encircl'd wand; +By classic authors term'd caduceus, +And highly fam'd for several uses. +To wit--most wond'rously endu'd, 35 +No poppy water half so good; +For let folks only get a touch, +Its soporific virtue's such, +Though ne'er so much awake before, +That quickly they begin to snore. 40 +Add too, what certain writers tell, +With this he drives men's souls to hell. + +Now to apply, begin we then; +His wand's a modern author's pen; +The serpents round about it twin'd 45 +Denote him of the reptile kind; +Denote the rage with which he writes, +His frothy slaver, venom'd bites; +An equal semblance still to keep, +Alike too both conduce to sleep. 50 +This diff'rence only, as the god +Drove souls to Tart'rus with his rod, +With his goosequill the scribbling elf, +Instead of others, damns himself. + +And here my simile almost tript, 55 +Yet grant a word by way of postscript. +Moreover, Merc'ry had a failing: +Well! what of that? out with it--stealing; +In which all modern bards agree, +Being each as great a thief as he: 60 +But ev'n this deity's existence +Shall lend my simile assistance. +Our modern bards! why what a pox +Are they but senseless stones and blocks? + + + + + +EDWIN AND ANGELA + +A BALLAD + +'TURN, gentle hermit of the dale, +And guide my lonely way, +To where yon taper cheers the vale +With hospitable ray. + +'For here, forlorn and lost I tread, 5 +With fainting steps and slow; +Where wilds immeasurably spread, +Seem length'ning as I go.' + +'Forbear, my son,' the hermit cries, +'To tempt the dangerous gloom; 10 +For yonder faithless phantom flies +To lure thee to thy doom. + +'Here to the houseless child of want +My door is open still; +And though my portion is but scant, 15 +I give it with good will. + +'Then turn to-night, and freely share +Whate'er my cell bestows; +My rushy couch, and frugal fare, +My blessing and repose. 20 + +'No flocks that range the valley free +To slaughter I condemn: +Taught by that power that pities me, +I learn to pity them. + +'But from the mountain's grassy side 25 +A guiltless feast I bring; +A scrip with herbs and fruits supplied, +And water from the spring. + +'Then, pilgrim, turn, thy cares forgo; +All earth-born cares are wrong: 30 +Man wants but little here below, +Nor wants that little long.' + +Soft as the dew from heav'n descends, +His gentle accents fell: +The modest stranger lowly bends, 35 +And follows to the cell. + +Far in a wilderness obscure +The lonely mansion lay; +A refuge to the neighbouring poor +And strangers led astray. 40 + +No stores beneath its humble thatch +Requir'd a master's care; +The wicket, opening with a latch, +Receiv'd the harmless pair. + +And now, when busy crowds retire 45 +To take their evening rest, +The hermit trimm'd his little fire, +And cheer'd his pensive guest: + +And spread his vegetable store, +And gaily press'd, and smil'd; 50 +And, skill'd in legendary lore, +The lingering hours beguil'd. + +Around in sympathetic mirth +Its tricks the kitten tries; +The cricket chirrups in the hearth; 55 +The crackling faggot flies. + +But nothing could a charm impart +To soothe the stranger's woe; +For grief was heavy at his heart, +And tears began to flow. 60 + +His rising cares the hermit spied, +With answ'ring care oppress'd; +'And whence, unhappy youth,' he cried, +'The sorrows of thy breast? + +'From better habitations spurn'd, 65 +Reluctant dost thou rove; +Or grieve for friendship unreturn'd, +Or unregarded love? + +'Alas! the joys that fortune brings +Are trifling, and decay; 70 +And those who prize the paltry things, +More trifling still than they. + +'And what is friendship but a name, +A charm that lulls to sleep; +A shade that follows wealth or fame, 75 +But leaves the wretch to weep? + +'And love is still an emptier sound, +The modern fair one's jest: +On earth unseen, or only found +To warm the turtle's nest. 80 + +'For shame, fond youth, thy sorrows hush, +And spurn the sex,' he said: +But, while he spoke, a rising blush +His love-lorn guest betray'd. + +Surpris'd, he sees new beauties rise, 85 +Swift mantling to the view; +Like colours o'er the morning skies, +As bright, as transient too. + +The bashful look, the rising breast, +Alternate spread alarms: 90 +The lovely stranger stands confess'd +A maid in all her charms. + +'And, ah! forgive a stranger rude, +A wretch forlorn,' she cried; +'Whose feet unhallow'd thus intrude 95 +Where heaven and you reside. + +'But let a maid thy pity share, +Whom love has taught to stray; +Who seeks for rest, but finds despair +Companion of her way. 100 + +'My father liv'd beside the Tyne, +A wealthy lord was he; +And all his wealth was mark'd as mine, +He had but only me. + +'To win me from his tender arms 105 +Unnumber'd suitors came; +Who prais'd me for imputed charms, +And felt or feign'd a flame. + +Each hour a mercenary crowd +With richest proffers strove: 110 +Amongst the rest young Edwin bow'd, +But never talk'd of love. + +'In humble, simplest habit clad, +No wealth nor power had he; +Wisdom and worth were all he had, 115 +But these were all to me. + +'And when beside me in the dale +He caroll'd lays of love; +His breath lent fragrance to the gale, +And music to the grove. 120 + +'The blossom opening to the day, +The dews of heaven refin'd, +Could nought of purity display, +To emulate his mind. + +'The dew, the blossom on the tree, 125 +With charms inconstant shine; +Their charms were his, but woe to me! +Their constancy was mine. + +'For still I tried each fickle art, +Importunate and vain: 130 +And while his passion touch'd my heart, +I triumph'd in his pain. + +'Till quite dejected with my scorn, +He left me to my pride; +And sought a solitude forlorn, 135 +In secret, where he died. + +'But mine the sorrow, mine the fault, +And well my life shall pay; +I'll seek the solitude he sought, +And stretch me where he lay. 140 + +'And there forlorn, despairing, hid, +I'll lay me down and die; +'Twas so for me that Edwin did, +And so for him will I.' + +'Forbid it, heaven!' the hermit cried, 145 +And clasp'd her to his breast: +The wondering fair one turn'd to chide, +'Twas Edwin's self that prest. + +'Turn, Angelina, ever dear, +My charmer, turn to see 150 +Thy own, thy long-lost Edwin here, +Restor'd to love and thee. + +'Thus let me hold thee to my heart, +And ev'ry care resign; +And shall we never, never part, 155 +My life -- my all that's mine? + +'No, never from this hour to part, +We'll live and love so true; +The sigh that rends thy constant heart +Shall break thy Edwin's too.' 160 + + + + + + +ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF A MAD DOG + +Good people all, of every sort, +Give ear unto my song; +And if you find it wond'rous short, +It cannot hold you long. + +In Islington there was a man, 5 +Of whom the world might say, +That still a godly race he ran, +Whene'er he went to pray. + +A kind and gentle heart he had, +To comfort friends and foes; 10 +The naked every day he clad, +When he put on his clothes. + +And in that town a dog was found, +As many dogs there be, +Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound, 15 +And curs of low degree. + +This dog and man at first were friends; +But when a pique began, +The dog, to gain some private ends, +Went mad and bit the man. 20 + +Around from all the neighbouring streets +The wond'ring neighbours ran, +And swore the dog had lost his wits, +To bite so good a man. + +The wound it seem'd both sore and sad 25 +To every Christian eye; +And while they swore the dog was mad, +They swore the man would die. + +But soon a wonder came to light, +That show'd the rogues they lied: 30 +The man recover'd of the bite, +The dog it was that died. + + + + + +SONG +FROM 'THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD' + +WHEN lovely woman stoops to folly, +And finds too late that men betray, +What charm can soothe her melancholy, +What art can wash her guilt away? + +The only art her guilt to cover, 5 +To hide her shame from every eye, +To give repentance to her lover, +And wring his bosom, is -- to die. + + + + + +EPILOGUE TO 'THE GOOD NATUR'D MAN' + +As puffing quacks some caitiff wretch procure +To swear the pill, or drop, has wrought a cure; +Thus on the stage, our play-wrights still depend +For Epilogues and Prologues on some friend, +Who knows each art of coaxing up the town, 5 +And make full many a bitter pill go down. +Conscious of this, our bard has gone about, +And teas'd each rhyming friend to help him out. +'An Epilogue -- things can't go on without it; +It could not fail, would you but set about it.' 10 +'Young man,' cries one -- a bard laid up in clover -- +'Alas, young man, my writing days are over; +Let boys play tricks, and kick the straw; not I: +Your brother Doctor there, perhaps, may try.' +'What I? dear Sir,' the Doctor interposes 15 +'What plant my thistle, Sir, among his roses! +No, no; I've other contests to maintain; +To-night I head our troops at Warwick Lane: +Go, ask your manager.' 'Who, me? Your pardon; +Those things are not our forte at Covent Garden.' 20 +Our Author's friends, thus plac'd at happy distance, +Give him good words indeed, but no assistance. +As some unhappy wight, at some new play, +At the Pit door stands elbowing a way, +While oft, with many a smile, and many a shrug, 25 +He eyes the centre, where his friends sit snug; +His simp'ring friends, with pleasure in their eyes, +Sink as he sinks, and as he rises rise; +He nods, they nod; he cringes, they grimace; +But not a soul will budge to give him place. 30 +Since then, unhelp'd, our bard must now conform +'To 'bide the pelting of this pitiless storm' -- +Blame where you must, be candid where you can; +And be each critic the 'Good Natur'd Man'. + + + + + +EPILOGUE TO 'THE SISTER' + +WHAT! five long acts -- and all to make us wiser! +Our authoress sure has wanted an adviser. +Had she consulted 'me', she should have made +Her moral play a speaking masquerade; +Warm'd up each bustling scene, and in her rage 5 +Have emptied all the green-room on the stage. +My life on't, this had kept her play from sinking; +Have pleas'd our eyes, and sav'd the pain of thinking. +Well! since she thus has shown her want of skill, +What if I give a masquerade? -- I will. 10 +But how? ay, there's the rub! ('pausing') -- I've got my cue: +The world's a masquerade! the maskers, you, you, you. + ('To Boxes, Pit, and Gallery'.) +____, what a group the motley scene discloses! +False wits, false wives, false virgins, and false spouses! +Statesmen with bridles on; and, close beside 'em, 15 +Patriots, in party-coloured suits, that ride 'em. +There Hebes, turn'd of fifty, try once more +To raise a flame in Cupids of threescore. +These in their turn, with appetites as keen, +Deserting fifty, fasten on fifteen, 20 +Miss, not yet full fifteen, with fire uncommon, +Flings down her sampler, and takes up the woman: +The little urchin smiles, and spreads her lure, +And tries to kill, ere she's got power to cure. +Thus 'tis with all -- their chief and constant care 25 +Is to seem everything but what they are. +Yon broad, bold, angry spark, I fix my eye on, +Who seems to have robb'd his vizor from the lion; +Who frowns, and talks, and swears, with round parade, +Looking as who should say, D__ __! who's afraid? 30 + ('Mimicking') + +Strip but his vizor off, and sure I am +You'll find his lionship a very lamb. +Yon politician, famous in debate, +Perhaps, to vulgar eyes, bestrides the state; +Yet, when he deigns his real shape t' assume, 35 +He turns old woman, and bestrides a broom. +Yon patriot, too, who presses on your sight, +And seems to every gazer all in white, +If with a bribe his candour you attack, +He bows, turns round, and whip -- the man's a black! 40 +Yon critic, too -- but whither do I run? +If I proceed, our bard will be undone! +Well then a truce, since she requests it too: +Do you spare her, and I'll for once spare you. + + + + +PROLOGUE TO 'ZOBEIDE' + +IN these bold times, when Learning's sons explore +The distant climate and the savage shore; +When wise Astronomers to India steer, +And quit for Venus, many a brighter here; +While Botanists, all cold to smiles and dimpling, 5 +Forsake the fair, and patiently -- go simpling; +When every bosom swells with wond'rous scenes, +Priests, cannibals, and hoity-toity queens: +Our bard into the general spirit enters, +And fits his little frigate for adventures: 10 +With Scythian stores, and trinkets deeply laden, +He this way steers his course, in hopes of trading -- +Yet ere he lands he 'as ordered me before, +To make an observation on the shore. +Where are we driven? our reck'ning sure is lost! 15 +This seems a barren and a dangerous coast. +____ what a sultry climate am I under! +Yon ill foreboding cloud seems big with thunder. + ('Upper Gallery'.) +There Mangroves spread, and larger than I've seen 'em -- + ('Pit'.) +Here trees of stately size -- and turtles in 'em -- + ('Balconies'.) 20 +Here ill-condition'd oranges abound -- + ('Stage'.) +And apples ('takes up one and tastes it'), + bitter apples strew the ground. +The place is uninhabited, I fear! +I heard a hissing -- there are serpents here! +O there the natives are -- a dreadful race! 25 +The men have tails, the women paint the face! +No doubt they're all barbarians. -- Yes, 'tis so, +I'll try to make palaver with them though; + ('Making signs'.) +'Tis best, however, keeping at a distance. +Good Savages, our Captain craves assistance; 30 +Our ship's well stor'd; -- in yonder creek we've laid her; +His honour is no mercenary trader; +This is his first adventure; lend him aid, +Or you may chance to spoil a thriving trade. +His goods, he hopes are prime, and brought from far, 35 +Equally fit for gallantry and war. +What! no reply to promises so ample? +I'd best step back -- and order up a sample. + + + + +THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS: + +SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF HER LATE ROYAL HIGHNESS +THE PRINCESS DOWAGER OF WALES. + +OVERTURE -- A SOLEMN DIRGE. AIR -- TRIO. + +ARISE, ye sons of worth, arise, +And waken every note of woe; +When truth and virtue reach the skies, +'Tis ours to weep the want below! + +CHORUS. +When truth and virtue, etc. 5 + +MAN SPEAKER. +The praise attending pomp and power, +The incense given to kings, +Are but the trappings of an hour -- +Mere transitory things! +The base bestow them: but the good agree 10 +To spurn the venal gifts as flattery. +But when to pomp and power are join'd +An equal dignity of mind -- +When titles are the smallest claim -- +When wealth and rank and noble blood, 15 +But aid the power of doing good -- +Then all their trophies last; and flattery turns to fame. + +Bless'd spirit thou, whose fame, just born to bloom +Shall spread and flourish from the tomb, +How hast thou left mankind for heaven! 20 +Even now reproach and faction mourn. +And, wondering how their rage was borne, +Request to be forgiven. +Alas! they never had thy hate: +Unmov'd in conscious rectitude, 25 +Thy towering mind self-centred stood, +Nor wanted man's opinion to be great. +In vain, to charm thy ravish'd sight, +A thousand gifts would fortune send; +In vain, to drive thee from the right, 30 +A thousand sorrows urg'd thy end: +Like some well-fashion'd arch thy patience stood, +And purchas'd strength from its increasing load. +Pain met thee like a friend that set thee free; +Affliction still is virtue's opportunity! 35 +Virtue, on herself relying, +Ev'ry passion hush'd to rest, +Loses ev'ry pain of dying +In the hopes of being blest. +Ev'ry added pang she suffers 40 +Some increasing good bestows, +Ev'ry shock that malice offers +Only rocks her to repose. + +SONG. BY A MAN -- AFFETTUOSO. +Virtue, on herself relying, +Ev'ry passion hush'd to rest, 45 +Loses ev'ry pain of dying +In the hopes of being blest. + +Ev'ry added pang she suffers +Some increasing good bestows, +Ev'ry shock that malice offers, 50 +Only rocks her to repose. + +WOMAN SPEAKER. +Yet, ah! what terrors frowned upon her fate -- +Death, with its formidable band, +Fever and pain and pale consumptive care, +Determin'd took their stand: 55 +Nor did the cruel ravagers design +To finish all their efforts at a blow; +But, mischievously slow, +They robb'd the relic and defac'd the shrine. +With unavailing grief, 60 +Despairing of relief, +Her weeping children round +Beheld each hour +Death's growing power, +And trembled as he frown'd. 65 + +As helpless friends who view from shore +The labouring ship, and hear the tempest roar, +While winds and waves their wishes cross -- +They stood, while hope and comfort fail, +Not to assist, but to bewail 70 +The inevitable loss. +Relentless tyrant, at thy call +How do the good, the virtuous fall! +Truth, beauty, worth, and all that most engage, +But wake thy vengeance and provoke thy rage. 75 + +SONG. BY A MAN. -- BASSO. -- STACCATO. -- SPIRITOSO. +When vice my dart and scythe supply, +How great a king of terrors I! +If folly, fraud, your hearts engage, +Tremble, ye mortals, at my rage! +Fall, round me fall, ye little things, 80 +Ye statesmen, warriors, poets, kings; +If virtue fail her counsel sage, +Tremble, ye mortals, at my rage! + +MAN SPEAKER. +Yet let that wisdom, urged by her example, +Teach us to estimate what all must suffer; 85 +Let us prize death as the best gift of nature -- +As a safe inn, where weary travellers, +When they have journeyed through a world of cares, +May put off life and be at rest for ever. +Groans, weeping friends, indeed, and gloomy sables, +May oft distract us with their sad solemnity: 91 +The preparation is the executioner. +Death, when unmasked, shows me a friendly face, +And is a terror only at a distance; +For as the line of life conducts me on 95 +To Death's great court, the prospect seems more fair. +'Tis Nature's kind retreat, that's always open +To take us in when we have drained the cup +Of life, or worn our days to wretchedness. +In that secure, serene retreat, 100 +Where all the humble, all the great, +Promiscuously recline; +Where wildly huddled to the eye, +The beggar's pouch and prince's purple lie, +May every bliss be thine. 105 +And ah! bless'd spirit, wheresoe'er thy flight, +Through rolling worlds, or fields of liquid light, +May cherubs welcome their expected guest; +May saints with songs receive thee to their rest; +May peace that claimed while here thy warmest love, +May blissful endless peace be thine above! 111 + +SONG. BY A WOMAN. -- AMOROSO. +Lovely, lasting Peace below, +Comforter of every woe, +Heav'nly born, and bred on high, +To crown the favourites of the sky -- 115 +Lovely, lasting Peace, appear; +This world itself, if thou art here, +Is once again with Eden blest, +And man contains it in his breast. + +WOMAN SPEAKER. +Our vows are heard! Long, long to mortal eyes, +Her soul was fitting to its kindred skies: 121 +Celestial-like her bounty fell, +Where modest want and patient sorrow dwell; +Want pass'd for merit at her door, +Unseen the modest were supplied, 125 +Her constant pity fed the poor -- +Then only poor, indeed, the day she died. +And oh! for this! while sculpture decks thy shrine, +And art exhausts profusion round, +The tribute of a tear be mine, 130 +A simple song, a sigh profound. +There Faith shall come, a pilgrim gray, +To bless the tomb that wraps thy clay; +And calm Religion shall repair +To dwell a weeping hermit there. 135 +Truth, Fortitude, and Friendship shall agree +To blend their virtues while they think of thee. + +AIR. CHORUS. -- POMPOSO. +Let us, let all the world agree, +To profit by resembling thee. + + + +PART II + +OVERTURE -- PASTORALE + +MAN SPEAKER. +FAST by that shore where Thames' translucent stream +Reflects new glories on his breast, +Where, splendid as the youthful poet's dream, +He forms a scene beyond Elysium blest -- +Where sculptur'd elegance and native grace +Unite to stamp the beauties of the place, 5 +While sweetly blending still are seen +The wavy lawn, the sloping green -- +While novelty, with cautious cunning, +Through ev'ry maze of fancy running, +From China borrows aid to deck the scene -- 10 +There, sorrowing by the river's glassy bed, +Forlorn, a rural bard complain'd, +All whom Augusta's bounty fed, +All whom her clemency sustain'd; +The good old sire, unconscious of decay, 15 +The modest matron, clad in homespun gray, +The military boy, the orphan'd maid, +The shatter'd veteran, now first dismay'd; +These sadly join beside the murmuring deep, +And, as they view 20 +The towers of Kew, +Call on their mistress -- now no more -- and weep. + +CHORUS. -- AFFETTUOSO. -- LARGO. +Ye shady walks, ye waving greens, +Ye nodding towers, ye fairy scenes -- +Let all your echoes now deplore 25 +That she who form'd your beauties is no more. + +MAN SPEAKER. +First of the train the patient rustic came, +Whose callous hand had form'd the scene, +Bending at once with sorrow and with age, +With many a tear and many a sigh between; 30 +'And where,' he cried, 'shall now my babes have bread, +Or how shall age support its feeble fire? +No lord will take me now, my vigour fled, +Nor can my strength perform what they require; 34 +Each grudging master keeps the labourer bare -- +A sleek and idle race is all their care. +My noble mistress thought not so: +Her bounty, like the morning dew, +Unseen, though constant, used to flow; +And as my strength decay'd, her bounty grew.' 40 + +WOMAN SPEAKER. +In decent dress, and coarsely clean, +The pious matron next was seen -- +Clasp'd in her hand a godly book was borne, +By use and daily meditation worn; +That decent dress, this holy guide, 45 +Augusta's care had well supplied. +'And ah!' she cries, all woe-begone, +'What now remains for me? +Oh! where shall weeping want repair, +To ask for charity? 50 +Too late in life for me to ask, +And shame prevents the deed, +And tardy, tardy are the times +To succour, should I need. +But all my wants, before I spoke, 55 +Were to my Mistress known; +She still reliev'd, nor sought my praise, +Contented with her own. +But ev'ry day her name I'll bless, +My morning prayer, my evening song, 60 +I'll praise her while my life shall last, +A life that cannot last me long.' + +SONG. BY A WOMAN. +Each day, each hour, her name I'll bless -- +My morning and my evening song; +And when in death my vows shall cease, 65 +My children shall the note prolong. + +MAN SPEAKER. +The hardy veteran after struck the sight, +Scarr'd, mangled, maim'd in every part, +Lopp'd of his limbs in many a gallant fight, +In nought entire -- except his heart. 70 +Mute for a while, and sullenly distress'd, +At last the impetuous sorrow fir'd his breast. +'Wild is the whirlwind rolling +O'er Afric's sandy plain, +And wild the tempest howling 75 +Along the billow'd main: +But every danger felt before -- +The raging deep, the whirlwind's roar -- +Less dreadful struck me with dismay, +Than what I feel this fatal day. 80 +Oh, let me fly a land that spurns the brave, +Oswego's dreary shores shall be my grave; +I'll seek that less inhospitable coast, +And lay my body where my limbs were lost.' + 85 +SONG. BY A MAN. -- BASSO. SPIRITOSO. +Old Edward's sons, unknown to yield, +Shall crowd from Crecy's laurell'd field, +To do thy memory right; +For thine and Britain's wrongs they feel, +Again they snatch the gleamy steel, +And wish the avenging fight. 90 + +WOMAN SPEAKER. +In innocence and youth complaining, +Next appear'd a lovely maid, +Affliction o'er each feature reigning, +Kindly came in beauty's aid; +Every grace that grief dispenses, 95 +Every glance that warms the soul, +In sweet succession charmed the senses, +While pity harmonized the whole. +'The garland of beauty' -- 'tis thus she would say -- 99 +'No more shall my crook or my temples adorn, +I'll not wear a garland -- Augusta's away, +I'll not wear a garland until she return; +But alas! that return I never shall see, +The echoes of Thames shall my sorrows proclaim, 104 +There promised a lover to come -- but, O me! +'Twas death, -- 'twas the death of my mistress that came. +But ever, for ever, her image shall last, +I'll strip all the spring of its earliest bloom; +On her grave shall the cowslip and primrose be cast, 109 +And the new-blossomed thorn shall whiten her tomb.' + +SONG. BY A WOMAN. -- PASTORALE. +With garlands of beauty the queen of the May +No more will her crook or her temples adorn; +For who'd wear a garland when she is away, +When she is remov'd, and shall never return. + 115 +On the grave of Augusta these garlands be plac'd, +We'll rifle the spring of its earliest bloom, +And there shall the cowslip and primrose be cast, +And the new-blossom'd thorn shall whiten her tomb. + +CHORUS. -- ALTRO MODO. +On the grave of Augusta this garland be plac'd, +We'll rifle the spring of its earliest bloom, 120 +And there shall the cowslip and primrose be cast, +And the tears of her country shall water her tomb. + + + + +SONG + +FROM 'SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER' + +LET school-masters puzzle their brain, +With grammar, and nonsense, and learning; +Good liquor, I stoutly maintain, +Gives 'genus' a better discerning. +Let them brag of their heathenish gods, 5 +Their Lethes, their Styxes, and Stygians: +Their Quis, and their Quaes, and their Quods, +They're all but a parcel of Pigeons. + Toroddle, toroddle, toroll. + +When Methodist preachers come down +A-preaching that drinking is sinful, 10 +I'll wager the rascals a crown +They always preach best with a skinful. +But when you come down with your pence, +For a slice of their scurvy religion, +I'll leave it to all men of sense, 15 +But you, my good friend, are the pigeon. + Toroddle, toroddle, toroll. + +Then come, put the jorum about, +And let us be merry and clever; +Our hearts and our liquors are stout; +Here's the Three Jolly Pigeons for ever. 20 +Let some cry up woodcock or hare, +Your bustards, your ducks, and your widgeons; +But of all the birds in the air, +Here's a health to the Three Jolly Pigeons. + Toroddle, toroddle, toroll. + + + + +EPILOGUE TO 'SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER' + +WELL, having stoop'd to conquer with success, +And gain'd a husband without aid from dress, +Still, as a Bar-maid, I could wish it too, +As I have conquer'd him, to conquer you: +And let me say, for all your resolution, 5 +That pretty Bar-maids have done execution. +Our life is all a play, compos'd to please, +'We have our exits and our entrances.' +The First Act shows the simple country maid, +Harmless and young, of ev'ry thing afraid; 10 +Blushes when hir'd, and, with unmeaning action, +'I hopes as how to give you satisfaction.' +Her Second Act displays a livelier scene -- +Th' unblushing Bar-maid of a country inn, +Who whisks about the house, at market caters, 15 +Talks loud, coquets the guests, and scolds the waiters. +Next the scene shifts to town, and there she soars, +The chop-house toast of ogling connoisseurs. +On 'Squires and Cits she there displays her arts, +And on the gridiron broils her lovers' hearts: 20 +And as she smiles, her triumphs to complete, +Even Common-Councilmen forget to eat. +The Fourth Act shows her wedded to the 'Squire, +And Madam now begins to hold it higher; +Pretends to taste, at Operas cries 'caro', 25 +And quits her 'Nancy Dawson', for 'Che faro', +Doats upon dancing, and in all her pride, +Swims round the room, the Heinel of Cheapside; +Ogles and leers with artificial skill, +'Till having lost in age the power to kill, 30 +She sits all night at cards, and ogles at spadille. +Such, through our lives, the eventful history -- +The Fifth and Last Act still remains for me. +The Bar-maid now for your protection prays. +Turns Female Barrister, and pleads for Bayes. 35 + + + + + +RETALIATION + +A POEM + +OF old, when Scarron his companions invited, +Each guest brought his dish, and the feast was united; +If our landlord supplies us with beef, and with fish, +Let each guest bring himself, and he brings the best dish: +Our Dean shall be venison, just fresh from the plains; 5 +Our Burke shall be tongue, with a garnish of brains; +Our Will shall be wild-fowl, of excellent flavour, +And Dick with his pepper shall heighten their savour: +Our Cumberland's sweet-bread its place shall obtain, +And Douglas is pudding, substantial and plain: 10 +Our Garrick's a salad; for in him we see +Oil, vinegar, sugar, and saltness agree: +To make out the dinner, full certain I am, +That Ridge is anchovy, and Reynolds is lamb; +That Hickey's a capon, and by the same rule, 15 +Magnanimous Goldsmith a gooseberry fool. +At a dinner so various, at such a repast, +Who'd not be a glutton, and stick to the last? +Here, waiter! more wine, let me sit while I'm able, +Till all my companions sink under the table; 20 +Then, with chaos and blunders encircling my head, +Let me ponder, and tell what I think of the dead. + +Here lies the good Dean, re-united to earth, +Who mix'd reason with pleasure, and wisdom with mirth: +If he had any faults, he has left us in doubt, 25 +At least, in six weeks, I could not find 'em out; +Yet some have declar'd, and it can't be denied 'em, +That sly-boots was cursedly cunning to hide 'em. + +Here lies our good Edmund, whose genius was such, +We scarcely can praise it, or blame it too much; 30 +Who, born for the Universe, narrow'd his mind, +And to party gave up what was meant for mankind. +Though fraught with all learning, yet straining his throat +To persuade Tommy Townshend to lend him a vote; +Who, too deep for his hearers, still went on refining, 35 +And thought of convincing, while they thought of dining; +Though equal to all things, for all things unfit, +Too nice for a statesman, too proud for a wit: +For a patriot, too cool; for a drudge, disobedient; +And too fond of the 'right' to pursue the 'expedient'. 40 +In short, 'twas his fate, unemploy'd, or in place, Sir, +To eat mutton cold, and cut blocks with a razor. + +Here lies honest William, whose heart was a mint, +While the owner ne'er knew half the good that was in't; +The pupil of impulse, it forc'd him along, 45 +His conduct still right, with his argument wrong; +Still aiming at honour, yet fearing to roam, +The coachman was tipsy, the chariot drove home; +Would you ask for his merits? alas! he had none; +What was good was spontaneous, his faults were his own. 50 + +Here lies honest Richard, whose fate I must sigh at; +Alas, that such frolic should now be so quiet! +What spirits were his! what wit and what whim! +Now breaking a jest, and now breaking a limb; +Now wrangling and grumbling to keep up the ball, 55 +Now teasing and vexing, yet laughing at all! +In short, so provoking a devil was Dick, +That we wish'd him full ten times a day at Old Nick; +But, missing his mirth and agreeable vein, +As often we wish'd to have Dick back again. 60 + +Here Cumberland lies, having acted his parts, +The Terence of England, the mender of hearts; +A flattering painter, who made it his care +To draw men as they ought to be, not as they are. +His gallants are all faultless, his women divine, 65 +And comedy wonders at being so fine; +Like a tragedy queen he has dizen'd her out, +Or rather like tragedy giving a rout. +His fools have their follies so lost in a crowd +Of virtues and feelings, that folly grows proud; 70 +And coxcombs, alike in their failings alone, +Adopting his portraits, are pleas'd with their own. +Say, where has our poet this malady caught? +Or, wherefore his characters thus without fault? +Say, was it that vainly directing his view 75 +To find out men's virtues, and finding them few, +Quite sick of pursuing each troublesome elf, +He grew lazy at last, and drew from himself? + +Here Douglas retires, from his toils to relax, +The scourge of impostors, the terror of quacks: 80 +Come, all ye quack bards, and ye quacking divines, +Come, and dance on the spot where your tyrant reclines: +When Satire and Censure encircl'd his throne, +I fear'd for your safety, I fear'd for my own; +But now he is gone, and we want a detector, 85 +Our Dodds shall be pious, our Kenricks shall lecture; +Macpherson write bombast, and call it a style, +Our Townshend make speeches, and I shall compile; +New Lauders and Bowers the Tweed shall cross over, +No countryman living their tricks to discover; 90 +Detection her taper shall quench to a spark, +And Scotchman meet Scotchman, and cheat in the dark. + +Here lies David Garrick, describe me, who can, +An abridgment of all that was pleasant in man; +As an actor, confess'd without rival to shine: 95 +As a wit, if not first, in the very first line: +Yet, with talents like these, and an excellent heart, +The man had his failings, a dupe to his art. +Like an ill-judging beauty, his colours he spread, +And beplaster'd with rouge his own natural red. 100 +On the stage he was natural, simple, affecting; +'Twas only that when he was off he was acting. +With no reason on earth to go out of his way, +He turn'd and he varied full ten times a day. +Though secure of our hearts, yet confoundedly sick 105 +If they were not his own by finessing and trick, +He cast off his friends, as a huntsman his pack, +For he knew when he pleas'd he could whistle them back. +Of praise a mere glutton, he swallow'd what came, +And the puff of a dunce he mistook it for fame; 110 +Till his relish grown callous, almost to disease, +Who pepper'd the highest was surest to please. +But let us be candid, and speak out our mind, +If dunces applauded, he paid them in kind. +Ye Kenricks, ye Kellys, and Woodfalls so grave, 115 +What a commerce was yours, while you got and you gave! +How did Grub-street re-echo the shouts you rais'd, +While he was be-Roscius'd, and you were be-prais'd! +But peace to his spirit, wherever it flies, +To act as an angel, and mix with the skies: 120 +Those poets, who owe their best fame to his skill, +Shall still be his flatterers, go where he will. +Old Shakespeare, receive him, with praise and with love, +And Beaumonts and Bens be his Kellys above. + +Here Hickey reclines, a most blunt, pleasant creature, +And slander itself must allow him good nature: 126 +He cherish'd his friend, and he relish'd a bumper; +Yet one fault he had, and that one was a thumper. +Perhaps you may ask if the man was a miser! +I answer, no, no, for he always was wiser: 130 +Too courteous, perhaps, or obligingly flat? +His very worst foe can't accuse him of that: +Perhaps he confided in men as they go, +And so was too foolishly honest! Ah no! 134 +Then what was his failing? come, tell it, and burn ye! +He was, could he help it? -- a special attorney. + +Here Reynolds is laid, and, to tell you my mind, +He has not left a better or wiser behind: +His pencil was striking, resistless, and grand; +His manners were gentle, complying, and bland; 140 +Still born to improve us in every part, +His pencil our faces, his manners our heart: +To coxcombs averse, yet most civilly steering, +When they judg'd without skill he was still hard of hearing: +When they talk'd of their Raphaels, Correggios, and stuff, 145 +He shifted his trumpet, and only took snuff. + + + + + +POSTSCRIPT + +After the Fourth Edition of this Poem was printed, the Publisher +received an Epitaph on Mr. Whitefoord, from a friend of the late Doctor +Goldsmith, inclosed in a letter, of which the following is an +abstract:-- + +'I have in my possession a sheet of paper, containing near forty lines +in the Doctor's own hand-writing: there are many scattered, broken +verses, on Sir Jos. Reynolds, Counsellor Ridge, Mr. Beauclerk, and Mr. +Whitefoord. The Epitaph on the last-mentioned gentleman is the only one +that is finished, and therefore I have copied it, that you may add it to +the next edition. It is a striking proof of Doctor Goldsmith's +good-nature. I saw this sheet of paper in the Doctor's room, five or six +days before he died; and, as I had got all the other Epitaphs, I asked +him if I might take it. "In truth you may, my Boy," (replied he,) "for +it will be of no use to me where I am going."' + +HERE Whitefoord reclines, and deny it who can, +Though he 'merrily' liv'd, he is now a 'grave' man; +Rare compound of oddity, frolic, and fun! +Who relish'd a joke, and rejoic'd in a pun; 150 +Whose temper was generous, open, sincere; +A stranger to flatt'ry, a stranger to fear; +Who scatter'd around wit and humour at will; +Whose daily 'bons mots' half a column might fill; +A Scotchman, from pride and from prejudice free; 155 +A scholar, yet surely no pedant was he. + +What pity, alas! that so lib'ral a mind +Should so long be to news-paper essays confin'd; +Who perhaps to the summit of science could soar, +Yet content 'if the table he set on a roar'; 160 +Whose talents to fill any station were fit, +Yet happy if Woodfall confess'd him a wit. + +Ye news-paper witlings! ye pert scribbling folks +Who copied his squibs, and re-echoed his jokes; +Ye tame imitators, ye servile herd, come, 165 +Still follow your master, and visit his tomb: +To deck it, bring with you festoons of the vine, +And copious libations bestow on his shrine: +Then strew all around it (you can do no less) +'Cross-readings, Ship-news', and 'Mistakes of the Press'. + +Merry Whitefoord, farewell! for 'thy' sake I admit 171 +That a Scot may have humour, I had almost said wit: +This debt to thy mem'ry I cannot refuse, +'Thou best humour'd man with the worst humour'd muse.' + + + + +SONG + +INTENDED TO HAVE BEEN SUNG IN 'SHE STOOPS +TO CONQUER' + +AH me! when shall I marry me? +Lovers are plenty; but fail to relieve me: +He, fond youth, that could carry me, +Offers to love, but means to deceive me. + +But I will rally, and combat the ruiner: 5 +Not a look, not a smile shall my passion discover: +She that gives all to the false one pursuing her, +Makes but a penitent, loses a lover. + + + + +TRANSLATION + +CHASTE are their instincts, faithful is their fire, +No foreign beauty tempts to false desire; +The snow-white vesture, and the glittering crown, +The simple plumage, or the glossy down +Prompt not their loves:-- the patriot bird pursues 5 +His well acquainted tints, and kindred hues. +Hence through their tribes no mix'd polluted flame, +No monster-breed to mark the groves with shame; +But the chaste blackbird, to its partner true, +Thinks black alone is beauty's favourite hue. 10 +The nightingale, with mutual passion blest, +Sings to its mate, and nightly charms the nest; +While the dark owl to court its partner flies, +And owns its offspring in their yellow eyes. + + + + + +THE HAUNCH OF VENISON + +A POETICAL EPISTLE TO LORD CLARE + +THANKS, my Lord, for your venison, for finer or fatter +Never rang'd in a forest, or smok'd in a platter; +The haunch was a picture for painters to study, +The fat was so white, and the lean was so ruddy. +Though my stomach was sharp, I could scarce help regretting 5 +To spoil such a delicate picture by eating; +I had thoughts, in my chambers, to place it in view, +To be shown to my friends as a piece of 'virtu'; +As in some Irish houses, where things are so so, +One gammon of bacon hangs up for a show: 10 +But for eating a rasher of what they take pride in, +They'd as soon think of eating the pan it is fried in. +But hold -- let me pause -- Don't I hear you pronounce +This tale of the bacon a damnable bounce? +Well, suppose it a bounce -- sure a poet may try, 15 +By a bounce now and then, to get courage to fly. + +But, my Lord, it's no bounce: I protest in my turn, +It's a truth -- and your Lordship may ask Mr. Byrne. +To go on with my tale -- as I gaz'd on the haunch, +I thought of a friend that was trusty and staunch; 20 +So I cut it, and sent it to Reynolds undress'd, +To paint it, or eat it, just as he lik'd best. +Of the neck and the breast I had next to dispose; +'Twas a neck and a breast -- that might rival M--r--'s: +But in parting with these I was puzzled again, 25 +With the how, and the who, and the where, and the when. +There's H--d, and C--y, and H--rth, and H--ff, +I think they love venison -- I know they love beef; +There's my countryman H--gg--ns-- Oh! let him alone, +For making a blunder, or picking a bone. 30 +But hang it -- to poets who seldom can eat, +Your very good mutton's a very good treat; +Such dainties to them, their health it might hurt, +It's like sending them ruffles, when wanting a shirt. +While thus I debated, in reverie centred, 35 +An acquaintance, a friend as he call'd himself, enter'd; +An under-bred, fine-spoken fellow was he, +And he smil'd as he look'd at the venison and me. +'What have we got here? -- Why, this is good eating! +Your own, I suppose -- or is it in waiting?' 40 +'Why, whose should it be?' cried I with a flounce, +'I get these things often;' -- but that was a bounce: +'Some lords, my acquaintance, that settle the nation, +Are pleas'd to be kind -- but I hate ostentation.' + +'If that be the case, then,' cried he, very gay, 45 +'I'm glad I have taken this house in my way. +To-morrow you take a poor dinner with me; +No words -- I insist on't -- precisely at three: +We'll have Johnson, and Burke; all the wits will be there; +My acquaintance is slight, or I'd ask my Lord Clare. 50 +And now that I think on't, as I am a sinner! +We wanted this venison to make out the dinner. +What say you -- a pasty? it shall, and it must, +And my wife, little Kitty, is famous for crust. +Here, porter! -- this venison with me to Mile-end; 55 +No stirring -- I beg -- my dear friend -- my dear friend! +Thus snatching his hat, he brush'd off like the wind, +And the porter and eatables follow'd behind. + +Left alone to reflect, having emptied my shelf, +'And nobody with me at sea but myself'; 60 +Though I could not help thinking my gentleman hasty, +Yet Johnson, and Burke, and a good venison pasty, +Were things that I never dislik'd in my life, +Though clogg'd with a coxcomb, and Kitty his wife. +So next day, in due splendour to make my approach, 65 +I drove to his door in my own hackney coach. + +When come to the place where we all were to dine, +(A chair-lumber'd closet just twelve feet by nine:) +My friend bade me welcome, but struck me quite dumb, +With tidings that Johnson and Burke would not come; 70 +'For I knew it,' he cried, 'both eternally fail, +The one with his speeches, and t'other with Thrale; +But no matter, I'll warrant we'll make up the party +With two full as clever, and ten times as hearty. +The one is a Scotchman, the other a Jew, 75 +They['re] both of them merry and authors like you; +The one writes the 'Snarler', the other the 'Scourge'; +Some think he writes 'Cinna' -- he own to 'Panurge'.' +While thus he describ'd them by trade, and by name, +They enter'd and dinner was serv'd as they came. 80 + +At the top a fried liver and bacon were seen, +At the bottom was tripe in a swinging tureen; +At the sides there was spinach and pudding made hot; +In the middle a place where the pasty -- was not. +Now, my Lord as for tripe, it's my utter aversion, 85 +And your bacon I hate like a Turk or a Persian; +So there I sat stuck, like a horse in a pound, +While the bacon and liver went merrily round. +But what vex'd me most was that d--'d Scottish rogue, +With his long-winded speeches, his smiles and his brogue; 90 +And, 'Madam,' quoth he, 'may this bit be my poison, +A prettier dinner I never set eyes on; +Pray a slice of your liver, though may I be curs'd, +But I've eat of your tripe till I'm ready to burst.; +'The tripe,' quoth the Jew, with his chocolate cheek, 95 +'I could dine on this tripe seven days in the week: +I like these here dinners so pretty and small; +But your friend there, the Doctor, eats nothing at all.' +'O--Oh!' quoth my friend, 'he'll come on in a trice, +He's keeping a corner for something that's nice: 100 +There's a pasty' -- 'A pasty!' repeated the Jew, +'I don't care if I keep a corner for't too.' +'What the de'il, mon, a pasty!' re-echoed the Scot, +'Though splitting, I'll still keep a corner for thot.' +'We'll all keep a corner,' the lady cried out; 105 +'We'll all keep a corner,' was echoed about. +While thus we resolv'd, and the pasty delay'd, +With look that quite petrified, enter'd the maid; +A visage so sad, and so pale with affright, +Wak'd Priam in drawing his curtains by night. 110 +But we quickly found out, for who could mistake her? +That she came with some terrible news from the baker: +And so it fell out, for that negligent sloven +Had shut out the pasty on shutting his oven +Sad Philomel thus -- but let similes drop -- 115 +And now that I think on't, the story may stop. +To be plain, my good Lord, it's but labour misplac'd +To send such good verses to one of your taste; +You've got an odd something -- a kind of discerning -- +A relish -- a taste -- sicken'd over by learning; 120 +At least, it's your temper, as very well known, +That you think very slightly of all that's your own: +So, perhaps, in your habits of thinking amiss, +You may make a mistake, and think slightly of this. + + + + + + +EPITAPH ON THOMAS PARNELL + +THIS tomb, inscrib'd to gentle Parnell's name, +May speak our gratitude, but not his fame. +What heart but feels his sweetly-moral lay, +That leads to truth through pleasure's flowery way! +Celestial themes confess'd his tuneful aid; 5 +And Heaven, that lent him genius, was repaid. +Needless to him the tribute we bestow -- +The transitory breath of fame below: +More lasting rapture from his works shall rise, +While Converts thank their poet in the skies. 10 + + + + + +THE CLOWN'S REPLY + +JOHN TROTT was desired by two witty peers +To tell them the reason why asses had ears? +'An't please you,' quoth John, 'I'm not given to letters, +Nor dare I pretend to know more than my betters; +Howe'er, from this time I shall ne'er see your graces, 5 +As I hope to be saved! without thinking on asses.' + + + + + +EPITAPH ON EDWARD PURDON + +HERE lies poor Ned Purdon, from misery freed, +Who long was a bookseller's hack; +He led such a damnable life in this world, -- +I don't think he'll wish to come back. + + + + + +EPILOGUE FOR MR. LEE LEWES + +HOLD! Prompter, hold! a word before your nonsense; +I'd speak a word or two, to ease my conscience. +My pride forbids it ever should be said, +My heels eclips'd the honours of my head; +That I found humour in a piebald vest, 5 +Or ever thought that jumping was a jest. + ('Takes off his mask.') +Whence, and what art thou, visionary birth? +Nature disowns, and reason scorns thy mirth, +In thy black aspect every passion sleeps, +The joy that dimples, and the woe that weeps. 10 +How has thou fill'd the scene with all thy brood, +Of fools pursuing, and of fools pursu'd! +Whose ins and outs no ray of sense discloses, +Whose only plot it is to break our noses; +Whilst from below the trap-door Demons rise, 15 +And from above the dangling deities; +And shall I mix in this unhallow'd crew? +May rosined lightning blast me, if I do! +No -- I will act, I'll vindicate the stage: +Shakespeare himself shall feel my tragic rage. 20 +Off! off! vile trappings! a new passion reigns! +The madd'ning monarch revels in my veins. +Oh! for a Richard's voice to catch the theme: +'Give me another horse! bind up my wounds! + -- soft -- 'twas but a dream.' +Aye, 'twas but a dream, for now there's no retreating: 25 +If I cease Harlequin, I cease from eating. +'Twas thus that Aesop's stag, a creature blameless, +Yet something vain, like one that shall be nameless, +Once on the margin of a fountain stood, +And cavill'd at his image in the flood. 30 +'The deuce confound,' he cries, 'these drumstick shanks, +They never have my gratitude nor thanks; +They're perfectly disgraceful! strike me dead! +But for a head, yes, yes, I have a head. +How piercing is that eye! how sleek that brow! 35 +My horns! I'm told horns are the fashion now.' +Whilst thus he spoke, astonish'd, to his view, +Near, and more near, the hounds and huntsmen drew. +'Hoicks! hark forward!' came thund'ring from behind, +He bounds aloft, outstrips the fleeting wind: 40 +He quits the woods, and tries the beaten ways; +He starts, he pants, he takes the circling maze. +At length his silly head, so priz'd before, +Is taught his former folly to deplore; +Whilst his strong limbs conspire to set him free, 45 +And at one bound he saves himself, -- like me. + ('Taking a hump through the stage door'.) + + + + + +EPILOGUE + +INTENDED TO HAVE BEEN SPOKEN FOR 'SHE STOOPS +TO CONQUER' + +'Enter' MRS. BULKLEY, +'who curtsies very low as beginning to speak. +Then enter' MISS CATLEY, +'who stands full before her, and curtsies to the audience'. + +MRS. BULKELEY. +HOLD, Ma'am, your pardon. What's your business here? + +MISS CATLEY. +The Epilogue. + +MRS. BULKLEY. +The Epilogue? + +MISS CATLEY. +Yes, the Epilogue, my dear. + +MRS. BULKLEY. +Sure you mistake, Ma'am. The Epilogue, 'I' bring it. + +MISS CATLEY. +Excuse me, Ma'am. The Author bid 'me' sing it. + +'Recitative'. +Ye beaux and belles, that form this splendid ring, 5 +Suspend your conversation while I sing. + +MRS. BULKLEY. +Why, sure the girl's beside herself: an Epilogue of singing, +A hopeful end indeed to such a blest beginning. +Besides, a singer in a comic set! -- +Excuse me, Ma'am, I know the etiquette. 10 + +MISS CATLEY. +What if we leave it to the House? + +MRS. BULKLEY. +The House! -- Agreed. + +MISS CATLEY> +Agreed. + +MRS. BULKLEY. +And she, whose party's largest, shall proceed. +And first I hope, you'll readily agree +I've all the critics and the wits for me. +They, I am sure, will answer my commands: 15 +Ye candid-judging few, hold up your hands. +What! no return? I find too late, I fear, +That modern judges seldom enter here. + +MISS CATLEY. +I'm for a different set. -- Old men, whose trade is +Still to gallant and dangle with the ladies; -- 20 + +'Recitative'. +Who mump their passion, and who, grimly smiling, +Still thus address the fair with voice beguiling:-- + +'Air -- Cotillon'. +Turn, my fairest, turn, if ever +Strephon caught thy ravish'd eye; +Pity take on your swain so clever, 25 +Who without your aid must die. +Yes, I shall die, hu, hu, hu, hu! +Yes, I must die, ho, ho, ho, ho! ('Da capo'.) + +MRS. BULKLEY. +Let all the old pay homage to your merit; +Give me the young, the gay, the men of spirit. 30 +Ye travell'd tribe, ye macaroni train, +Of French friseurs, and nosegays, justly vain, +Who take a trip to Paris once a year +To dress, and look like awkward Frenchmen here, +Lend me your hands. -- Oh! fatal news to tell: 35 +Their hands are only lent to the Heinel. + +MISS CATLEY. +Ay, take your travellers, travellers indeed! +Give me my bonny Scot, that travels from the Tweed. +Where are the chiels? Ah! Ah, I well discern +The smiling looks of each bewitching bairn. 40 + +'Air -- A bonny young lad is my Jockey'. +I'll sing to amuse you by night and by day, +And be unco merry when you are but gay; +When you with your bagpipes are ready to play, +My voice shall be ready to carol away +With Sandy, and Sawney, and Jockey 45 +With Sawney, and Jarvie, and Jockey. + +MRS. BULKLEY. +Ye gamesters, who, so eager in pursuit, +Make but of all your fortune one 'va toute'; +Ye jockey tribe, whose stock of words are few, +'I hold the odds. -- Done, done, with you, with you;' 50 +Ye barristers, so fluent with grimace, +'My Lord, -- your Lordship misconceives the case;' +Doctors, who cough and answer every misfortuner, +'I wish I'd been called in a little sooner:' +Assist my cause with hands and voices hearty; 55 +Come, end the contest here, and aid my party. + +MISS CATLEY. +'Air -- Ballinamony'. +Ye brave Irish lads, hark away to the crack, +Assist me, I pray, in this woful attack; +For sure I don't wrong you, you seldom are slack, +When the ladies are calling, to blush and hang back; 60 +For you're always polite and attentive, +Still to amuse us inventive, +And death is your only preventive: +Your hands and your voices for me. + +MRS. BULKLEY. +Well, Madam, what if, after all this sparring, 65 +We both agree, like friends, to end our jarring? + +MISS CATLEY. +And that our friendship may remain unbroken, +What if we leave the Epilogue unspoken? + +MRS. BULKLEY. +Agreed. + +MISS CATLEY. +Agreed. + +MRS. BULKLEY. +And now with late repentance, +Un-epilogued the Poet waits his sentence. 70 +Condemn the stubborn fool who can't submit +To thrive by flattery, though he starves by wit. + ('Exeunt'.) + + + + + +EPILOGUE + +INTENDED TO HAVE BEEN SPOKEN FOR 'SHE STOOPS +TO CONQUER' + +THERE is a place, so Ariosto sings, +A treasury for lost and missing things; +Lost human wits have places assign'd them, +And they, who lose their senses, there may find them. +But where's this place, this storehouse of the age? 5 +The Moon, says he:-- but 'I' affirm the Stage: +At least in many things, I think, I see +His lunar, and our mimic world agree. +Both shine at night, for, but at Foote's alone, +We scarce exhibit till the sun goes down. 10 +Both prone to change, no settled limits fix, +And sure the folks of both are lunatics. +But in this parallel my best pretence is, +That mortals visit both to find their senses. +To this strange spot, Rakes, Macaronies, Cits 15 +Come thronging to collect their scatter'd wits. +The gay coquette, who ogles all the day, +Comes here at night, and goes a prude away. +Hither the affected city dame advancing, +Who sighs for operas, and dotes on dancing, 20 +Taught by our art her ridicule to pause on, +Quits the 'Ballet', and calls for 'Nancy Dawson'. +The Gamester too, whose wit's all high or low, +Oft risks his fortune on one desperate throw, +Comes here to saunter, having made his bets, 25 +Finds his lost senses out, and pay his debts. +The Mohawk too -- with angry phrases stored, +As 'D-- --, Sir,' and 'Sir, I wear a sword'; +Here lesson'd for a while, and hence retreating, +Goes out, affronts his man, and takes a beating. 30 +Here come the sons of scandal and of news, +But find no sense -- for they had none to lose. +Of all the tribe here wanting an adviser +Our Author's the least likely to grow wiser; +Has he not seen how you your favour place, 35 +On sentimental Queens and Lords in lace? +Without a star, a coronet or garter, +How can the piece expect or hope for quarter? +No high-life scenes, no sentiment:-- the creature +Still stoops among the low to copy nature. 50 +Yes, he's far gone:-- and yet some pity fix, +The English laws forbid to punish lunatics. + + + + + +THE CAPTIVITY + +AN + +ORATORIO + + + +THE PERSONS. + +FIRST ISRAELITISH PROPHET. +SECOND ISRAELITISH PROPHET. +ISRAELITISH WOMAN. +FIRST CHALDEAN PRIEST. +SECOND CHALDEAN PRIEST. +CHALDEAN WOMAN. +CHORUS OF YOUTHS AND VIRGINS. + +SCENE - The Banks of the River Euphrates, near Babylon. + + +THE CAPTIVITY + +ACT I -- SCENE I. + +'Israelites sitting on the Banks of the Euphrates'. + +FIRST PROPHET. +RECITATIVE. +YE captive tribes, that hourly work and weep +Where flows Euphrates murmuring to the deep, +Suspend awhile the task, the tear suspend, +And turn to God, your Father and your Friend. +Insulted, chain'd, and all the world a foe, 5 +Our God alone is all we boast below. + +FIRST PROPHET. +AIR. +Our God is all we boast below, +To him we turn our eyes; +And every added weight of woe +Shall make our homage rise. 10 + +SECOND PROPHET. +And though no temple richly drest, +Nor sacrifice is here; +We'll make his temple in our breast, +And offer up a tear. + ['The first stanza repeated by the Chorus. + +SECOND PROPHET. +RECITATIVE. +That strain once more; it bids remembrance rise, +And brings my long-lost country to mine eyes. 16 +Ye fields of Sharon, dress'd in flow'ry pride, +Ye plains where Jordan rolls its glassy tide, +Ye hills of Lebanon, with cedars crown'd, +Ye Gilead groves, that fling perfumes around, 20 +These hills how sweet! Those plains how wond'rous fair, +But sweeter still, when Heaven was with us there! + +AIR. +O Memory, thou fond deceiver, +Still importunate and vain; +To former joys recurring ever, 25 +And turning all the past to pain; + +Hence intruder, most distressing, +Seek the happy and the free: +The wretch who wants each other blessing, +Ever wants a friend in thee. 30 + +FIRST PROPHET. +RECITATIVE. +Yet, why complain? What, though by bonds confin'd, +Should bonds repress the vigour of the mind? +Have we not cause for triumph when we see +Ourselves alone from idol-worship free? +Are not this very morn those feasts begun? 35 +Where prostrate error hails the rising sun? +Do not our tyrant lords this day ordain +For superstitious rites and mirth profane? + +And should we mourn? Should coward virtue fly, +When impious folly rears her front on high? 40 +No; rather let us triumph still the more, +And as our fortune sinks, our wishes soar. + +AIR. +The triumphs that on vice attend +Shall ever in confusion end; +The good man suffers but to gain, 45 +And every virtue springs from pain: + +As aromatic plants bestow +No spicy fragrance while they grow; +But crush'd, or trodden to the ground, +Diffuse their balmy sweets around. 50 + +SECOND PROPHET. +RECITATIVE. +But hush, my sons, our tyrant lords are near; +The sounds of barb'rous pleasure strike mine ear; +Triumphant music floats along the vale; +Near, nearer still, it gathers on the gale; +The growing sound their swift approach declares; -- +Desist, my sons, nor mix the strain with theirs. 56 + +'Enter' CHALDEAN PRIESTS 'attended'. + +FIRST PRIEST. +AIR. +Come on, my companions, the triumph display; +Let rapture the minutes employ; +The sun calls us out on this festival day, +And our monarch partakes in the joy. 60 + +SECOND PRIEST. +Like the sun, our great monarch all rapture supplies, +Both similar blessings bestow; +The sun with his splendour illumines the skies, +And our monarch enlivens below. + +A CHALDEAN WOMAN. +AIR. +Haste, ye sprightly sons of pleasure; 65 +Love presents the fairest treasure, +Leave all other joys for me. + +A CHALDEAN ATTENDANT. +Or rather, Love's delights despising, +Haste to raptures ever rising +Wine shall bless the brave and free. 70 + +FIRST PRIEST. +Wind and beauty thus inviting, +Each to different joys exciting, +Whither shall my choice incline? + +SECOND PRIEST. +I'll waste no longer thought in choosing; +But, neither this nor that refusing, 75 +I'll make them both together mine. + +RECITATIVE. +But whence, when joy should brighten o'er the land, +This sullen gloom in Judah's captive band? +Ye sons of Judah, why the lute unstrung? +Or why those harps on yonder willows hung? 80 +Come, take the lyre, and pour the strain along, +The day demands it; sing us Sion's song. +Dismiss your griefs, and join our warbling choir, +For who like you can wake the sleeping lyre? + +SECOND PROPHET. +Bow'd down with chains, the scorn of all mankind, +To want, to toil, and every ill consign'd, 86 +Is this a time to bid us raise the strain, +Or mix in rites that Heaven regards with pain? +No, never! May this hand forget each art +That speeds the power of music to the heart, 90 +Ere I forget the land that gave me birth, +Or join with sounds profane its sacred mirth! + +FIRST PRIEST. +Insulting slaves! If gentler methods fail, +The whips and angry tortures shall prevail. + ['Exeunt Chaldeans' + +FIRST PROPHET. +Why, let them come, one good remains to cheer; +We fear the Lord, and know no other fear. 96 + +CHORUS. +Can whips or tortures hurt the mind +On God's supporting breast reclin'd? +Stand fast, and let our tyrants see +That fortitude is victory. + ['Exeunt'. + + +ACT II. + +'Scene as before'. + +CHORUS OF ISRAELITES. +O PEACE of mind, angelic guest! +Thou soft companion of the breast! +Dispense thy balmy store. +Wing all our thoughts to reach the skies, +Till earth, receding from our eyes, 5 +Shall vanish as we soar. + +FIRST PRIEST. +RECITATIVE. +No more! Too long has justice been delay'd, +The king's commands must fully be obey'd; +Compliance with his will your peace secures, +Praise but our gods, and every good is yours. 10 +But if, rebellious to his high command, +You spurn the favours offer'd from his hand, +Think, timely think, what terrors are behind; +Reflect, nor tempt to rage the royal mind. + +SECOND PRIEST. +AIR. +Fierce is the whirlwind howling 15 +O'er Afric's sandy plain, +And fierce the tempest rolling +Along the furrow'd main: +But storms that fly, +To rend the sky, 20 +Every ill presaging, +Less dreadful show +To worlds below +Than angry monarch's raging. + +ISRAELITISH WOMAN. +RECITATIVE. +Ah, me! What angry terrors round us grow; 25 +How shrinks my soul to meet the threaten'd blow! +Ye prophets, skill'd in Heaven's eternal truth, +Forgive my sex's fears, forgive my youth! +If, shrinking thus, when frowning power appears, +I wish for life, and yield me to my fears. 30 +Let us one hour, one little hour obey; +To-morrow's tears may wash our stains away. + +AIR. +To the last moment of his breath +On hope the wretch relies; +And e'en the pang preceding death 35 +Bids expectation rise. + +Hope, like the gleaming taper's light, +Adorns and cheers our way; +And still, as darker grows the night, +Emits a brighter ray. 40 + +SECOND PRIEST. +RECITATIVE. +Why this delay? At length for joy prepare; +I read your looks, and see compliance there. +Come on, and bid the warbling rapture rise, +Our monarch's fame the noblest theme supplies. +Begin, ye captive bands, and strike the lyre, 45 +The time, the theme, the place, and all conspire. + +CHALDEAN WOMAN. +AIR. +See the ruddy morning smiling, +Hear the grove to bliss beguiling; +Zephyrs through the woodland playing, +Streams along the valley straying. 50 + +FIRST PRIEST. +While these a constant revel keep, +Shall Reason only teach to weep? +Hence, intruder! We'll pursue +Nature, a better guide than you. + +SECOND PRIEST. +Every moment, as it flows, 55 +Some peculiar pleasure owes; +Then let us, providently wise, +Seize the debtor as it flies. + +Think not to-morrow can repay +The pleasures that we lose to-day; 60 +To-morrow's most unbounded store +Can but pay its proper score. + +FIRST PRIEST. +RECITATIVE. +But hush! See, foremost of the captive choir, +The master-prophet grasps his full-ton'd lyre. +Mark where he sits, with executing art, 65 +Feels for each tone, and speeds it to the heart; +See how prophetic rapture fills his form, +Awful as clouds that nurse the growing storm; +And now his voice, accordant to the string, +Prepares our monarch's victories to sing. 70 + +FIRST PROPHET. +AIR. +From north, from south, from east, from west, +Conspiring nations come; +Tremble thou vice-polluted breast; +Blasphemers, all be dumb. + +The tempest gathers all around, 75 +On Babylon it lies; +Down with her! down -- down to the ground; +She sinks, she groans, she dies. + +SECOND PROPHET. +Down with her, Lord, to lick the dust, +Ere yonder setting sun; 80 +Serve her as she hath served the just! +'Tis fixed -- it shall be done. + +FIRST PRIEST. +RECITATIVE. +No more! When slaves thus insolent presume, +The king himself shall judge, and fix their doom. +Unthinking wretches! have not you, and all, 85 +Beheld our power in Zedekiah's fall? +To yonder gloomy dungeon turn your eyes; +See where dethron'd your captive monarch lies, +Depriv'd of sight and rankling in his chain; 89 +See where he mourns his friends and children slain. +Yet know, ye slaves, that still remain behind +More ponderous chains, and dungeons more confin'd. + +CHORUS OF ALL. +Arise, all potent ruler, rise, +And vindicate thy people's cause; +Till every tongue in every land 95 +Shall offer up unfeign'd applause. + ['Exeunt'. + + +ACT III. + +'Scene as before'. + +FIRST PRIEST. +RECITATIVE. +YES, my companions, Heaven's decrees are past, +And our fix'd empire shall for ever last; +In vain the madd'ning prophet threatens woe, +In vain rebellion aims her secret blow; +Still shall our fame and growing power be spread, +And still our vengeance crush the traitor's head. 6 + +AIR. +Coeval with man +Our empire began, +And never shall fail +Till ruin shakes all; 10 +When ruin shakes all, +Then shall Babylon fall. + +FIRST PROPHET. +RECITATIVE. +'Tis thus that pride triumphant rears the head, +A little while, and all their power is fled; +But ha! what means yon sadly plaintive train, 15 +That this way slowly bend along the plain? +And now, methinks, to yonder bank they bear +A palled corse, and rest the body there. +Alas! too well mine eyes indignant trace +The last remains of Judah's royal race: 20 +Our monarch falls, and now our fears are o'er, +Unhappy Zedekiah is no more! + +AIR. +Ye wretches who, by fortune's hate, +In want and sorrow groan; +Come ponder his severer fate, 25 +And learn to bless your own. + +You vain, whom youth and pleasure guide, +Awhile the bliss suspend; +Like yours, his life began in pride, +Like his, your lives shall end. 30 + +SECOND PROPHET. +RECITATIVE. +Behold his wretched corse with sorrow worn, +His squalid limbs with pond'rous fetters torn; +Those eyeless orbs that shock with ghastly glare, +Those ill-becoming rags -- that matted hair! +And shall not Heaven for this its terrors show, 35 +Grasp the red bolt, and lay the guilty low? +How long, how long, Almighty God of all, +Shall wrath vindictive threaten ere it fall! + +ISRAELITISH WOMAN. +AIR. +As panting flies the hunted hind, +Where brooks refreshing stray; 40 +And rivers through the valley wind, +That stop the hunter's way: + +Thus we, O Lord, alike distrest, +For streams of mercy long; +Those streams which cheer the sore opprest, +And overwhelm the strong. 46 + +FIRST PROPHET. +RECITATIVE. +But, whence that shout? Good heavens! amazement all! +See yonder tower just nodding to the fall: +See where an army covers all the ground, +Saps the strong wall, and pours destruction round; +The ruin smokes, destruction pours along; 51 +How low the great, how feeble are the strong! +The foe prevails, the lofty walls recline -- +O God of hosts, the victory is thine! + +CHORUS OF ISRAELITES. +Down with them, Lord, to lick the dust; 55 +Thy vengeance be begun: +Serve them as they have serv'd the just, +And let thy will be done. + +FIRST PRIEST. +RECITATIVE. +All, all is lost. The Syrian army fails, +Cyrus, the conqueror of the world, prevails, 60 +The ruin smokes, the torrent pours along; +How low the proud, how feeble are the strong! +Save us, O Lord! to thee, though late, we pray, +And give repentance but an hour's delay. + +FIRST AND SECOND PRIEST. +AIR. +Thrice happy, who in happy hour 65 +To Heaven their praise bestow, +And own his all-consuming power +Before they feel the blow! + +FIRST PROPHET. +RECITATIVE. +Now, now's our time! ye wretches bold and blind, +Brave but to God, and cowards to mankind, 70 +Too late you seek that power unsought before, +Your wealth, your pride, your kingdom, are no more. + +AIR. +O Lucifer, thou son of morn, +Alike of Heaven and man the foe; +Heaven, men, and all, 75 +Now press thy fall, +And sink thee lowest of the low. + +FIRST PROPHET. +O Babylon, how art thou fallen! +Thy fall more dreadful from delay! +Thy streets forlorn 80 +To wilds shall turn, +Where toads shall pant, and vultures prey. + +SECOND PROPHET. +RECITATIVE. +Such be her fate. But listen! from afar +The clarion's note proclaims the finish'd war! +Cyrus, our great restorer, is at hand, 85 +And this way leads his formidable band. +Give, give your songs of Sion to the wind, +And hail the benefactor of mankind: +He comes pursuant to divine decree, +To chain the strong, and set the captive free. 90 + +CHORUS OF YOUTHS. +Rise to transports past expressing, +Sweeter from remember'd woes; +Cyrus comes, our wrongs redressing, +Comes to give the world repose. + +CHORUS OF VIRGINS. +Cyrus comes, the world redressing, 95 +Love and pleasure in his train; +Comes to heighten every blessing, +Comes to soften every pain. + +SEMI-CHORUS. +Hail to him with mercy reigning, +Skilled in every peaceful art; 100 +Who from bonds our limbs unchaining, +Only binds the willing heart. + +THE LAST CHORUS. +But chief to Thee, our God, defender, friend, +Let praise be given to all eternity; +O Thou, without beginning, without end, 105 +Let us, and all, begin and end, in Thee! + + + + + +VERSES IN REPLY TO AN INVITATION TO DINNER AT DR. BAKER'S. + +'This 'is' a poem! This 'is' a copy of verses!' + +YOUR mandate I got, +You may all go to pot; +Had your senses been right, +You'd have sent before night; +As I hope to be saved, 5 +I put off being shaved; +For I could not make bold, +While the matter was cold, +To meddle in suds, +Or to put on my duds; 10 +So tell Horneck and Nesbitt, +And Baker and his bit, +And Kauffmann beside, +And the Jessamy Bride, +With the rest of the crew, 15 +The Reynoldses two, +Little Comedy's face, +And the Captain in lace, +(By-the-bye you may tell him, +I have something to sell him; 20 +Of use I insist, +When he comes to enlist. +Your worships must know +That a few days ago, +An order went out, 25 +For the foot guards so stout +To wear tails in high taste, +Twelve inches at least: +Now I've got him a scale +To measure each tail, 30 +To lengthen a short tail, +And a long one to curtail.) -- +Yet how can I when vext, +Thus stray from my text? +Tell each other to rue 35 +Your Devonshire crew, +For sending so late +To one of my state. +But 'tis Reynolds's way +From wisdom to stray, 50 +And Angelica's whim +To be frolick like him, +But, alas! Your good worships, how could they be wiser, +When both have been spoil'd in to-day's 'Advertiser'? + OLIVER GOLDSMITH. + + + + + +LETTER IN PROSE AND VERSE TO MRS. BUNBURY + +MADAM, + +I read your letter with all that allowance which critical candour could +require, but after all find so much to object to, and so much to raise +my indignation, that I cannot help giving it a serious answer. + +I am not so ignorant, Madam, as not to see there are many sarcasms +contained in it, and solecisms also. (Solecism is a word that comes from +the town of Soleis in Attica, among the Greeks, built by Solon, and +applied as we use the word Kidderminster for curtains, from a town also +of that name; -- but this is learning you have no taste for!) -- I say, +Madam, there are sarcasms in it, and solecisms also. But not to seem an +ill-natured critic, I'll take leave to quote your own words, and give +you my remarks upon them as they occur. You begin as follows:-- + +'I hope, my good Doctor, you soon will be here, +And your spring-velvet coat very smart will appear, +To open our ball the first day of the year.' + +Pray, Madam, where did you ever find the epithet 'good,' applied to the +title of Doctor? Had you called me 'learned Doctor,' or 'grave Doctor,' +or 'noble Doctor,' it might be allowable, because they belong to the +profession. But, not to cavil at trifles, you talk of my 'spring-velvet +coat,' and advise me to wear it the first day in the year, -- that is, +in the middle of winter! -- a spring-velvet in the middle of winter!!! +That would be a solecism indeed! and yet, to increase the inconsistence, +in another part of your letter you call me a beau. Now, on one side or +other, you must be wrong. If I am a beau, I can never think of wearing a +spring-velvet in winter: and if I am not a beau, why then, that explains +itself. But let me go on to your two next strange lines:-- + +'And bring with you a wig, that is modish and gay, +To dance with the girls that are makers of hay.' + +The absurdity of making hay at Christmas, you yourself seem sensible of: +you say your sister will laugh; and so indeed she well may! The Latins +have an expression for a contemptuous sort of laughter, 'Naso contemnere +adunco'; that is, to laugh with a crooked nose. She may laugh at you in +the manner of the ancients if she thinks fit. But now I come to the most +extraordinary of all extraordinary propositions, which is, to take your +and your sister's advice in playing at loo. The presumption of the offer +raises my indignation beyond the bounds of prose; it inspires me at once +with verse and resentment. I take advice! and from whom? You shall hear. + +First let me suppose, what may shortly be true, +The company set, and the word to be, Loo; +All smirking, and pleasant, and big with adventure, +And ogling the stake which is fix'd in the centre. +Round and round go the cards, while I inwardly damn 5 +At never once finding a visit from Pam. +I lay down my stake, apparently cool, +While the harpies about me all pocket the pool. +I fret in my gizzard, yet, cautious and sly, +I wish all my friends may be bolder than I: 10 +Yet still they sit snug, not a creature will aim +By losing their money to venture at fame. +'Tis in vain that at niggardly caution I scold, +'Tis in vain that I flatter the brave and the bold: +All play their own way, and they think me an ass, -- 15 +'What does Mrs. Bunbury?' 'I, Sir? I pass.' +'Pray what does Miss Horneck? Take courage, come do,' -- +'Who, I? let me see, Sir, why I must pass too.' +Mr. Bunbury frets, and I fret like the devil, +To see them so cowardly, lucky, and civil. 20 +Yet still I sit snug, and continue to sigh on, +Till made by my losses as bold as a lion, +I venture at all, -- while my avarice regards +The whole pool as my own -- 'Come, give me five cards.' +'Well done!' cry the ladies; 'Ah, Doctor, that's good! 25 +The pool's very rich -- ah! the Doctor is loo'd!' +Thus foil'd in my courage, on all sides perplex'd, +I ask for advice from the lady that's next: +'Pray, Ma'am, be so good as to give your advice; +Don't you think the best way is to venture for 't twice?' 30 +'I advise,' cries the lady, 'to try it, I own. -- +Ah! the Doctor is loo'd! Come, Doctor, put down.' +Thus, playing, and playing, I still grow more eager, +And so bold, and so bold, I'm at last a bold beggar. +Now, ladies, I ask, if law-matters you're skill'd in, 35 +Whether crimes such as yours should not come before Fielding? +For giving advice that is not worth a straw, +May well be call'd picking of pockets in law; +And picking of pockets, with which I now charge ye, +Is, by quinto Elizabeth, Death without Clergy. 40 +What justice, when both to the Old Bailey brought! +By the gods, I'll enjoy it; though 'tis but in thought! +Both are plac'd at the bar, with all proper decorum, +With bunches of fennel, and nosegays before 'em; +Both cover their faces with mobs and all that; 45 +But the judge bids them, angrily, take off their hat. +When uncover'd, a buzz of enquiry runs round, -- +'Pray what are their crimes?' -- 'They've been pilfering found.' +'But, pray, whom have they pilfer'd?' -- 'A Doctor, I hear.' +'What, yon solemn-faced, odd-looking man that stands near!' 50 +'The same.' -- 'What a pity! how does it surprise one! +Two handsomer culprits I never set eyes on!' +Then their friends all come round me with cringing and leering, +To melt me to pity, and soften my swearing. +First Sir Charles advances with phrases well strung, 55 +'Consider, dear Doctor, the girls are but young.' +'The younger the worse,' I return him again, +'It shows that their habits are all dyed in grain.' +'But then they're so handsome, one's bosom it grieves.' +'What signifies 'handsome', when people are thieves?' 60 +'But where is your justice? their cases are hard.' +'What signifies 'justice'? I want the 'reward'. + +There's the parish of Edmonton offers forty pounds; there's the +parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, offers forty pounds; there's +the parish of Tyburn, from the Hog-in-the-Pound to St. Giles's +watchhouse, offers forty pounds, -- I shall have all that if I +convict them!' -- + +'But consider their case, -- it may yet be your own! +And see how they kneel! Is your heart made of stone?' +This moves:-- so at last I agree to relent, 65 +For ten pounds in hand, and ten pounds to be spent. + +I challenge you all to answer this: I tell you, you cannot. It +cuts deep; -- but now for the rest of the letter: and next -- +but I want room -- so I believe I shall battle the rest out at +Barton some day next week. + + I don't value you all! + O. G. + + + + + + +VIDA'S GAME OF CHESS + +TRANSLATED + +ARMIES of box that sportively engage +And mimic real battles in their rage, +Pleased I recount; how, smit with glory's charms, +Two mighty Monarchs met in adverse arms, +Sable and white; assist me to explore, 5 +Ye Serian Nymphs, what ne'er was sung before. +No path appears: yet resolute I stray +Where youth undaunted bids me force my way. +O'er rocks and cliffs while I the task pursue, +Guide me, ye Nymphs, with your unerring clue. 10 +For you the rise of this diversion know, +You first were pleased in Italy to show +This studious sport; from Scacchis was its name, +The pleasing record of your Sister's fame. + +When Jove through Ethiopia's parch'd extent 15 +To grace the nuptials of old Ocean went, +Each god was there; and mirth and joy around +To shores remote diffused their happy sound. +Then when their hunger and their thirst no more +Claim'd their attention, and the feast was o'er; 20 +Ocean with pastime to divert the thought, +Commands a painted table to be brought. +Sixty-four spaces fill the chequer'd square; +Eight in each rank eight equal limits share. +Alike their form, but different are their dyes, 25 +They fade alternate, and alternate rise, +White after black; such various stains as those +The shelving backs of tortoises disclose. +Then to the gods that mute and wondering sate, +You see (says he) the field prepared for fate. 30 +Here will the little armies please your sight, +With adverse colours hurrying to the fight: +On which so oft, with silent sweet surprise, +The Nymphs and Nereids used to feast their eyes, +And all the neighbours of the hoary deep, 35 +When calm the sea, and winds were lull'd asleep +But see, the mimic heroes tread the board; +He said, and straightway from an urn he pour'd +The sculptured box, that neatly seem'd to ape +The graceful figure of a human shape:-- 40 +Equal the strength and number of each foe, +Sixteen appear'd like jet, sixteen like snow. +As their shape varies various is the name, +Different their posts, nor is their strength the same. +There might you see two Kings with equal pride 45 +Gird on their arms, their Consorts by their side; +Here the Foot-warriors glowing after fame, +There prancing Knights and dexterous Archers came +And Elephants, that on their backs sustain +Vast towers of war, and fill and shake the plain. 50 + +And now both hosts, preparing for the storm +Of adverse battle, their encampments form. +In the fourth space, and on the farthest line, +Directly opposite the Monarchs shine; +The swarthy on white ground, on sable stands 55 +The silver King; and then they send commands. +Nearest to these the Queens exert their might; +One the left side, and t'other guards the right: +Where each, by her respective armour known. +Chooses the colour that is like her own. 60 +Then the young Archers, two that snowy-white +Bend the tough yew, and two as black as night; +(Greece call'd them Mars's favourites heretofore, +From their delight in war, and thirst of gore). +These on each side the Monarch and his Queen 65 +Surround obedient; next to these are seen +The crested Knights in golden armour gay; +Their steeds by turns curvet, or snort or neigh. +In either army on each distant wing +Two mighty Elephants their castles bring, 70 +Bulwarks immense! and then at last combine +Eight of the Foot to form the second line, +The vanguard to the King and Queen; from far +Prepared to open all the fate of war. +So moved the boxen hosts, each double-lined, 75 +Their different colours floating in the wind: +As if an army of the Gauls should go, +With their white standards, o'er the Alpine snow +To meet in rigid fight on scorching sands +The sun-burnt Moors and Memnon's swarthy bands. 80 + +Then Father Ocean thus; you see them here, +Celestial powers, what troops, what camps appear. +Learn now the sev'ral orders of the fray, +For e'en these arms their stated laws obey. +To lead the fight, the Kings from all their bands +Choose whom they please to bear their great commands. 86 +Should a black hero first to battle go, +Instant a white one guards against the blow; +But only one at once can charge or shun the foe. +Their gen'ral purpose on one scheme is bent, 90 +So to besiege the King within the tent, +That there remains no place by subtle flight +From danger free; and that decides the fight. +Meanwhile, howe'er, the sooner to destroy +Th' imperial Prince, remorseless they employ 95 +Their swords in blood; and whosoever dare +Oppose their vengeance, in the ruin share. +Fate thins their camp; the parti-coloured field +Widens apace, as they o'ercome or yield, +But the proud victor takes the captive's post; 100 +There fronts the fury of th' avenging host +One single shock: and (should he ward the blow), +May then retire at pleasure from the foe. +The Foot alone (so their harsh laws ordain) +When they proceed can ne'er return again. 105 + +But neither all rush on alike to prove +The terror of their arms: The Foot must move +Directly on, and but a single square; +Yet may these heroes, when they first prepare +To mix in combat on the bloody mead, 110 +Double their sally, and two steps proceed; +But when they wound, their swords they subtly guide +With aim oblique, and slanting pierce his side. +But the great Indian beasts, whose backs sustain +Vast turrets arm'd, when on the redd'ning plain 115 +They join in all the terror of the fight, +Forward or backward, to the left or right, +Run furious, and impatient of confine +Scour through the field, and threat the farthest line. +Yet must they ne'er obliquely aim their blows; +That only manner is allow'd to those 121 +Whom Mars has favour'd most, who bend the stubborn bows. +These glancing sidewards in a straight career, +Yet each confin'd to their respective sphere, +Or white or black, can send th' unerring dart 125 +Wing'd with swift death to pierce through ev'ry part. +The fiery steed, regardless of the reins, +Comes prancing on; but sullenly disdains +The path direct, and boldly wheeling round, +Leaps o'er a double space at ev'ry bound: 130 +And shifts from white or black to diff'rent colour'd ground. +But the fierce Queen, whom dangers ne'er dismay, +The strength and terror of the bloody day, +In a straight line spreads her destruction wide, +To left or right, before, behind, aside. 135 +Yet may she never with a circling course +Sweep to the battle like the fretful Horse; +But unconfin'd may at her pleasure stray, +If neither friend nor foe block up the way; +For to o'erleap a warrior, 'tis decreed 140 +Those only dare who curb the snorting steed. +With greater caution and majestic state +The warlike Monarchs in the scene of fate +Direct their motions, since for these appear +Zealous each hope, and anxious ev'ry fear. 145 +While the King's safe, with resolution stern +They clasp their arms; but should a sudden turn +Make him a captive, instantly they yield, +Resolved to share his fortune in the field. +He moves on slow; with reverence profound 150 +His faithful troops encompass him around, +And oft, to break some instant fatal scheme, +Rush to their fates, their sov'reign to redeem; +While he, unanxious where to wound the foe, +Need only shift and guard against a blow. 155 +But none, however, can presume t' appear +Within his reach, but must his vengeance fear; +For he on ev'ry side his terror throws; +But when he changes from his first repose, +Moves but one step, most awfully sedate, 160 +Or idly roving, or intent on fate. +These are the sev'ral and establish'd laws: +Now see how each maintains his bloody cause. + +Here paused the god, but (since whene'er they wage +War here on earth the gods themselves engage 165 +In mutual battle as they hate or love, +And the most stubborn war is oft above), +Almighty Jove commands the circling train +Of gods from fav'ring either to abstain, +And let the fight be silently survey'd; 170 +And added solemn threats if disobey'd. +Then call'd he Phoebus from among the Powers +And subtle Hermes, whom in softer hours +Fair Maia bore: youth wanton'd in their face; +Both in life's bloom, both shone with equal grace. +Hermes as yet had never wing'd his feet; 176 +As yet Apollo in his radiant seat +Had never driv'n his chariot through the air, +Known by his bow alone and golden hair. +These Jove commission'd to attempt the fray, 180 +And rule the sportive military day; +Bid them agree which party each maintains, +And promised a reward that's worth their pains. +The greater took their seats; on either hand +Respectful the less gods in order stand, 185 +But careful not to interrupt their play, +By hinting when t' advance or run away. + +Then they examine, who shall first proceed +To try their courage, and their army lead. +Chance gave it for the White, that he should go 190 +First with a brave defiance to the foe. +Awhile he ponder'd which of all his train +Should bear his first commission o'er the plain; +And then determined to begin the scene +With him that stood before to guard the Queen. 195 +He took a double step: with instant care +Does the black Monarch in his turn prepare +The adverse champion, and with stern command +Bid him repel the charge with equal hand. +There front to front, the midst of all the field, 200 +With furious threats their shining arms they wield; +Yet vain the conflict, neither can prevail +While in one path each other they assail. +On ev'ry side to their assistance fly +Their fellow soldiers, and with strong supply 205 +Crowd to the battle, but no bloody stain +Tinctures their armour; sportive in the plain +Mars plays awhile, and in excursion slight +Harmless they sally forth, or wait the fight. + +But now the swarthy Foot, that first appear'd 210 +To front the foe, his pond'rous jav'lin rear'd +Leftward aslant, and a pale warrior slays, +Spurns him aside, and boldly takes his place. +Unhappy youth, his danger not to spy! +Instant he fell, and triumph'd but to die. 215 +At this the sable King with prudent care +Removed his station from the middle square, +And slow retiring to the farthest ground, +There safely lurk'd, with troops entrench'd around. +Then from each quarter to the war advance 220 +The furious Knights, and poise the trembling lance: +By turns they rush, by turns the victors yield, +Heaps of dead Foot choke up the crimson'd field: +They fall unable to retreat; around +The clang of arms and iron hoofs resound. 225 + +But while young Phoebus pleased himself to view +His furious Knight destroy the vulgar crew, +Sly Hermes long'd t' attempt with secret aim +Some noble act of more exalted fame. +For this, he inoffensive pass'd along 230 +Through ranks of Foot, and midst the trembling throng +Sent his left Horse, that free without confine +Rov'd o'er the plain, upon some great design +Against the King himself. At length he stood, +And having fix'd his station as he would, 235 +Threaten'd at once with instant fate the King +And th' Indian beast that guarded the right wing. +Apollo sigh'd, and hast'ning to relieve +The straiten'd Monarch, griev'd that he must leave +His martial Elephant expos'd to fate, 240 +And view'd with pitying eyes his dang'rous state. +First in his thoughts however was his care +To save his King, whom to the neighbouring square +On the right hand, he snatch'd with trembling flight; +At this with fury springs the sable Knight, 245 +Drew his keen sword, and rising to the blow, +Sent the great Indian brute to shades below. +O fatal loss! for none except the Queen +Spreads such a terror through the bloody scene. +Yet shall you ne'er unpunish'd boast your prize, +The Delian god with stern resentment cries; 251 +And wedg'd him round with Foot, and pour'd in fresh supplies. +Thus close besieg'd trembling he cast his eye +Around the plain, but saw no shelter nigh, +No way for flight; for here the Queen oppos'd, 255 +The Foot in phalanx there the passage clos'd: +At length he fell; yet not unpleas'd with fate, +Since victim to a Queen's vindictive hate. +With grief and fury burns the whiten'd host, +One of their Tow'rs thus immaturely lost. 260 +As when a bull has in contention stern +Lost his right horn, with double vengeance burn +His thoughts for war, with blood he's cover'd o'er, +And the woods echo to his dismal roar, +So look'd the flaxen host, when angry fate 265 +O'erturn'd the Indian bulwark of their state. +Fired at this great success, with double rage +Apollo hurries on his troops t' engage, +For blood and havoc wild; and, while he leads +His troops thus careless, loses both his steeds: 270 +For if some adverse warriors were o'erthrown, +He little thought what dangers threat his own. +But slyer Hermes with observant eyes +March'd slowly cautious, and at distance spies +What moves must next succeed, what dangers next arise. 275 +Often would he, the stately Queen to snare, +The slender Foot to front her arms prepare, +And to conceal his scheme he sighs and feigns +Such a wrong step would frustrate all his pains. +Just then an Archer, from the right-hand view, 280 +At the pale Queen his arrow boldly drew, +Unseen by Phoebus, who, with studious thought, +From the left side a vulgar hero brought. +But tender Venus, with a pitying eye, +Viewing the sad destruction that was nigh, 285 +Wink'd upon Phoebus (for the Goddess sat +By chance directly opposite); at that +Roused in an instant, young Apollo threw +His eyes around the field his troops to view: +Perceiv'd the danger, and with sudden fright 290 +Withdrew the Foot that he had sent to fight, +And sav'd his trembling Queen by seasonable flight. +But Maia's son with shouts fill'd all the coast: +The Queen, he cried, the important Queen is lost. +Phoebus, howe'er, resolving to maintain 295 +What he had done, bespoke the heavenly train. +What mighty harm, in sportive mimic flight, +Is it to set a little blunder right, +When no preliminary rule debarr'd? +If you henceforward, Mercury, would guard 300 +Against such practice, let us make the law: +And whosoe'er shall first to battle draw, +Or white, or black, remorseless let him go +At all events, and dare the angry foe. + He said, and this opinion pleased around: 305 +Jove turn'd aside, and on his daughter frown'd, +Unmark'd by Hermes, who, with strange surprise, +Fretted and foam'd, and roll'd his ferret eyes, +And but with great reluctance could refrain +From dashing at a blow all off the plain. 310 +Then he resolved to interweave deceits, -- +To carry on the war by tricks and cheats. +Instant he call'd an Archer from the throng, +And bid him like the courser wheel along: +Bounding he springs, and threats the pallid Queen. +The fraud, however, was by Phoebus seen; 316 +He smiled, and, turning to the Gods, he said: +Though, Hermes, you are perfect in your trade, +And you can trick and cheat to great surprise, +These little sleights no more shall blind my eyes; +Correct them if you please, the more you thus disguise. 321 +The circle laugh'd aloud; and Maia's son +(As if it had but by mistake been done) +Recall'd his Archer, and with motion due, +Bid him advance, the combat to renew. 325 +But Phoebus watch'd him with a jealous eye, +Fearing some trick was ever lurking nigh, +For he would oft, with sudden sly design, +Send forth at once two combatants to join +His warring troops, against the law of arms, 330 +Unless the wary foe was ever in alarms. + +Now the white Archer with his utmost force +Bent the tough bow against the sable Horse, +And drove him from the Queen, where he had stood +Hoping to glut his vengeance with her blood. 335 +Then the right Elephant with martial pride +Roved here and there, and spread his terrors wide: +Glittering in arms from far a courser came, +Threaten'd at once the King and Royal Dame; +Thought himself safe when he the post had seized, +And with the future spoils his fancy pleased. 341 +Fired at the danger a young Archer came, +Rush'd on the foe, and levell'd sure his aim; +(And though a Pawn his sword in vengeance draws, +Gladly he'd lose his life in glory's cause). 345 +The whistling arrow to his bowels flew, +And the sharp steel his blood profusely drew; +He drops the reins, he totters to the ground, +And his life issued murm'ring through the wound. +Pierced by the Foot, this Archer bit the plain; +The Foot himself was by another slain; 351 +And with inflamed revenge, the battle burns again. +Towers, Archers, Knights, meet on the crimson ground, +And the field echoes to the martial sound. +Their thoughts are heated, and their courage fired, +Thick they rush on with double zeal inspired; 356 +Generals and Foot, with different colour'd mien, +Confusedly warring in the camps are seen, -- +Valour and fortune meet in one promiscuous scene. +Now these victorious, lord it o'er the field; 360 +Now the foe rallies, the triumphant yield: +Just as the tide of battle ebbs or flows. +As when the conflict more tempestuous grows +Between the winds, with strong and boisterous sweep +They plough th' Ionian or Atlantic deep! 365 +By turns prevail the mutual blustering roar, +And the big waves alternate lash the shore. +But in the midst of all the battle raged +The snowy Queen, with troops at once engaged; +She fell'd an Archer as she sought the plain, -- 370 +As she retired an Elephant was slain: +To right and left her fatal spears she sent, +Burst through the ranks, and triumph'd as she went; +Through arms and blood she seeks a glorious fate, +Pierces the farthest lines, and nobly great 375 +Leads on her army with a gallant show, +Breaks the battalions, and cuts through the foe. +At length the sable King his fears betray'd, +And begg'd his military consort's aid: +With cheerful speed she flew to his relief, 380 +And met in equal arms the female chief. + +Who first, great Queen, and who at last did bleed? +How many Whites lay gasping on the mead? +Half dead, and floating in a bloody tide, +Foot, Knights, and Archer lie on every side. 385 +Who can recount the slaughter of the day? +How many leaders threw their lives away? +The chequer'd plain is fill'd with dying box, +Havoc ensues, and with tumultuous shocks +The different colour'd ranks in blood engage, 390 +And Foot and Horse promiscuously rage. +With nobler courage and superior might +The dreadful Amazons sustain the fight, +Resolved alike to mix in glorious strife, +Till to imperious fate they yield their life. 395 + +Meanwhile each Monarch, in a neighbouring cell, +Confined the warriors that in battle fell, +There watch'd the captives with a jealous eye, +Lest, slipping out again, to arms they fly. +But Thracian Mars, in stedfast friendship join'd 400 +To Hermes, as near Phoebus he reclined, +Observed each chance, how all their motions bend, +Resolved if possible to serve his friend. +He a Foot-soldier and a Knight purloin'd +Out from the prison that the dead confined; 405 +And slyly push'd 'em forward on the plain; +Th' enliven'd combatants their arms regain, +Mix in the bloody scene, and boldly war again. + +So the foul hag, in screaming wild alarms +O'er a dead carcase muttering her charms, 410 +(And with her frequent and tremendous yell +Forcing great Hecate from out of hell) +Shoots in the corpse a new fictitious soul; +With instant glare the supple eyeballs roll, +Again it moves and speaks, and life informs the whole. 415 + +Vulcan alone discern'd the subtle cheat; +And wisely scorning such a base deceit, +Call'd out to Phoebus. Grief and rage assail +Phoebus by turns; detected Mars turns pale. +Then awful Jove with sullen eye reproved 420 +Mars, and the captives order'd to be moved +To their dark caves; bid each fictitious spear +Be straight recall'd, and all be as they were. + +And now both Monarchs with redoubled rage +Led on their Queens, the mutual war to wage. 425 +O'er all the field their thirsty spears they send, +Then front to front their Monarchs they defend. +But lo! the female White rush'd in unseen, +And slew with fatal haste the swarthy Queen; +Yet soon, alas! resign'd her royal spoils, 430 +Snatch'd by a shaft from her successful toils. +Struck at the sight, both hosts in wild surprise +Pour'd forth their tears, and fill'd the air with cries; +They wept and sigh'd, as pass'd the fun'ral train, +As if both armies had at once been slain. 435 + +And now each troop surrounds its mourning chief, +To guard his person, or assuage his grief. +One is their common fear; one stormy blast +Has equally made havoc as it pass'd. +Not all, however, of their youth are slain; 440 +Some champions yet the vig'rous war maintain. +Three Foot, an Archer, and a stately Tower, +For Phoebus still exert their utmost power. +Just the same number Mercury can boast, +Except the Tower, who lately in his post 445 +Unarm'd inglorious fell, in peace profound, +Pierced by an Archer with a distant wound; +But his right Horse retain'd its mettled pride, -- +The rest were swept away by war's strong tide. + +But fretful Hermes, with despairing moan, 450 +Griev'd that so many champions were o'erthrown, +Yet reassumes the fight; and summons round +The little straggling army that he found, -- +All that had 'scaped from fierce Apollo's rage, -- +Resolved with greater caution to engage 455 +In future strife, by subtle wiles (if fate +Should give him leave) to save his sinking state. +The sable troops advance with prudence slow, +Bent on all hazards to distress the foe. +More cheerful Phoebus, with unequal pace, 460 +Rallies his arms to lessen his disgrace. +But what strange havoc everywhere has been! +A straggling champion here and there is seen; +And many are the tents, yet few are left within. + +Th' afflicted Kings bewail their consorts dead, 465 +And loathe the thoughts of a deserted bed; +And though each monarch studies to improve +The tender mem'ry of his former love, +Their state requires a second nuptial tie. +Hence the pale ruler with a love-sick eye 470 +Surveys th' attendants of his former wife, +And offers one of them a royal life. +These, when their martial mistress had been slain, +Weak and despairing tried their arms in vain; +Willing, howe'er, amidst the Black to go, 475 +They thirst for speedy vengeance on the foe. +Then he resolves to see who merits best, +By strength and courage, the imperial vest; +Points out the foe, bids each with bold design +Pierce through the ranks, and reach the deepest line: +For none must hope with monarchs to repose 481 +But who can first, through thick surrounding foes, +Through arms and wiles, with hazardous essay, +Safe to the farthest quarters force their way. +Fired at the thought, with sudden, joyful pace 485 +They hurry on; but first of all the race +Runs the third right-hand warrior for the prize, -- +The glitt'ring crown already charms her eyes. +Her dear associates cheerfully give o'er +The nuptial chase; and swift she flies before, 490 +And Glory lent her wings, and the reward in store. +Nor would the sable King her hopes prevent, +For he himself was on a Queen intent, +Alternate, therefore, through the field they go. +Hermes led on, but by a step too slow, 495 +His fourth left Pawn: and now th' advent'rous White +Had march'd through all, and gain'd the wish'd for site. +Then the pleased King gives orders to prepare +The crown, the sceptre, and the royal chair, +And owns her for his Queen: around exult 500 +The snowy troops, and o'er the Black insult. + +Hermes burst into tears, -- with fretful roar +Fill'd the wide air, and his gay vesture tore. +The swarthy Foot had only to advance +One single step; but oh! malignant chance! 505 +A towered Elephant, with fatal aim, +Stood ready to destroy her when she came: +He keeps a watchful eye upon the whole, +Threatens her entrance, and protects the goal. +Meanwhile the royal new-created bride, 510 +Pleased with her pomp, spread death and terror wide; +Like lightning through the sable troops she flies, +Clashes her arms, and seems to threat the skies. +The sable troops are sunk in wild affright, 514 +And wish th' earth op'ning snatch'd 'em from her sight. +In burst the Queen, with vast impetuous swing: +The trembling foes come swarming round the King, +Where in the midst he stood, and form a valiant ring. +So the poor cows, straggling o'er pasture land, +When they perceive the prowling wolf at hand, 520 +Crowd close together in a circle full, +And beg the succour of the lordly bull; +They clash their horns, they low with dreadful sound, +And the remotest groves re-echo round. + +But the bold Queen, victorious, from behind 525 +Pierces the foe; yet chiefly she design'd +Against the King himself some fatal aim, +And full of war to his pavilion came. +Now here she rush'd, now there; and had she been +But duly prudent, she had slipp'd between, 530 +With course oblique, into the fourth white square, +And the long toil of war had ended there, +The King had fallen, and all his sable state; +And vanquish'd Hermes cursed his partial fate. +For thence with ease the championess might go, 535 +Murder the King, and none could ward the blow. + +With silence, Hermes, and with panting heart, +Perceived the danger, but with subtle art, +(Lest he should see the place) spurs on the foe, 539 +Confounds his thoughts, and blames his being slow. +For shame! move on; would you for ever stay? +What sloth is this, what strange perverse delay? -- +How could you e'er my little pausing blame? -- +What! you would wait till night shall end the game? +Phoebus, thus nettled, with imprudence slew 545 +A vulgar Pawn, but lost his nobler view. +Young Hermes leap'd, with sudden joy elate; +And then, to save the monarch from his fate, +Led on his martial Knight, who stepp'd between, +Pleased that his charge was to oppose the Queen -- +Then, pondering how the Indian beast to slay, 551 +That stopp'd the Foot from making farther way, -- +From being made a Queen; with slanting aim +An archer struck him; down the monster came, +And dying shook the earth: while Phoebus tries 555 +Without success the monarch to surprise. +The Foot, then uncontroll'd with instant pride, +Seized the last spot, and moved a royal bride. +And now with equal strength both war again, +And bring their second wives upon the plain; 560 +Then, though with equal views each hop'd and fear'd, +Yet, as if every doubt had disappear'd, +As if he had the palm, young Hermes flies +Into excess of joy; with deep disguise, 564 +Extols his own Black troops, with frequent spite +And with invective taunts disdains the White. +Whom Phoebus thus reproved with quick return -- +As yet we cannot the decision learn +Of this dispute, and do you triumph now? +Then your big words and vauntings I'll allow, 570 +When you the battle shall completely gain; +At present I shall make your boasting vain. +He said, and forward led the daring Queen; +Instant the fury of the bloody scene +Rises tumultuous, swift the warriors fly 575 +From either side to conquer or to die. +They front the storm of war: around 'em Fear, +Terror, and Death, perpetually appear. +All meet in arms, and man to man oppose, +Each from their camp attempts to drive their foes; +Each tries by turns to force the hostile lines; 581 +Chance and impatience blast their best designs. +The sable Queen spread terror as she went +Through the mid ranks: with more reserved intent +The adverse dame declined the open fray, 585 +And to the King in private stole away: +Then took the royal guard, and bursting in, +With fatal menace close besieged the King. +Alarm'd at this, the swarthy Queen, in haste, +From all her havoc and destructive waste 590 +Broke off, and her contempt of death to show, +Leap'd in between the Monarch and the foe, +To save the King and state from this impending blow. +But Phoebus met a worse misfortune here: +For Hermes now led forward, void of fear, 595 +His furious Horse into the open plain, +That onward chafed, and pranced, and pawed amain. +Nor ceased from his attempts until he stood +On the long-wished-for spot, from whence he could +Slay King or Queen. O'erwhelm'd with sudden fears, +Apollo saw, and could not keep from tears. 601 +Now all seem'd ready to be overthrown; +His strength was wither'd, ev'ry hope was flown. +Hermes, exulting at this great surprise, +Shouted for joy, and fill'd the air with cries; 605 +Instant he sent the Queen to shades below, +And of her spoils made a triumphant show. +But in return, and in his mid career, +Fell his brave Knight, beneath the Monarch's spear. + +Phoebus, however, did not yet despair, 610 +But still fought on with courage and with care. +He had but two poor common men to show, +And Mars's favourite with his iv'ry bow. +The thoughts of ruin made 'em dare their best +To save their King, so fatally distress'd. 615 +But the sad hour required not such an aid; +And Hermes breathed revenge where'er he stray'd. +Fierce comes the sable Queen with fatal threat, +Surrounds the Monarch in his royal seat; +Rushed here and there, nor rested till she slew +The last remainder of the whiten'd crew. 621 +Sole stood the King, the midst of all the plain, +Weak and defenceless, his companions slain. +As when the ruddy morn ascending high +Has chased the twinkling stars from all the sky, +Your star, fair Venus, still retains its light, 626 +And, loveliest, goes the latest out of sight. +No safety's left, no gleams of hope remain; +Yet did he not as vanquish'd quit the plain, +But tried to shut himself between the foe, -- 630 +Unhurt through swords and spears he hoped to go, +Until no room was left to shun the fatal blow. +For if none threaten'd his immediate fate, +And his next move must ruin all his state, +All their past toil and labour is in vain, 635 +Vain all the bloody carnage of the plain, -- +Neither would triumph then, the laurel neither gain. +Therefore through each void space and desert tent, +By different moves his various course he bent: +The Black King watch'd him with observant eye, 640 +Follow'd him close, but left him room to fly. +Then when he saw him take the farthest line, +He sent the Queen his motions to confine, +And guard the second rank, that he could go +No farther now than to that distant row. 645 +The sable monarch then with cheerful mien +Approach'd, but always with one space between. +But as the King stood o'er against him there, +Helpless, forlorn, and sunk in his despair, +The martial Queen her lucky moment knew, +Seized on the farthest seat with fatal view, +Nor left th' unhappy King a place to flee unto. +At length in vengeance her keen sword she draws, +Slew him, and ended thus the bloody cause: +And all the gods around approved it with applause. + +The victor could not from his insults keep, 656 +But laugh'd and sneer'd to see Apollo weep. +Jove call'd him near, and gave him in his hand +The powerful, happy, and mysterious wand +By which the Shades are call'd to purer day, 660 +When penal fire has purged their sins away; +By which the guilty are condemn'd to dwell +In the dark mansions of the deepest hell; +By which he gives us sleep, or sleep denies, +And closes at the last the dying eyes. 665 +Soon after this, the heavenly victor brought +The game on earth, and first th' Italians taught. + +For (as they say) fair Scacchis he espied +Feeding her cygnets in the silver tide, +(Sacchis, the loveliest Seriad of the place) 670 +And as she stray'd, took her to his embrace. +Then, to reward her for her virtue lost, +Gave her the men and chequer'd board, emboss'd +With gold and silver curiously inlay'd; +And taught her how the game was to be play'd. 675 +Ev'n now 'tis honour'd with her happy name; +And Rome and all the world admire the game. +All which the Seriads told me heretofore, +When my boy-notes amused the Serian shore. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +NOTES. + +INTRODUCTION + +P. ix, l. 6. ----- + "He was born...at Pallas." This is the usual + account. But it was maintained by the family of the poet's + mother, and has been contended (by Dr. Michael F. Cox in a + Lecture on 'The Country and Kindred of Oliver Goldsmith,' + published in vol. 1, pt. 2, of the 'Journal' of the 'National + Literary Society of Ireland.' 1900) that his real birth-place + was the residence of Mrs. Goldsmith's parents, Smith-Hill House, + Elphin, Roscommon, to which she was in the habit of paying + frequent visits. Meanwhile, in 1897, a window was placed to + Goldsmith's memory in Forgney Church, Longford,--the church of + which, at the time of his birth, his father was curate. + +P. x, l. 33. ----- + "his academic career was not a success." 'Oliver + Goldsmith is recorded on two occasions as being remarkably + diligent at Morning Lecture; again, as cautioned for bad + answering at Morning and Greek Lectures; and finally, as put + down into the next class for neglect of his studies' (Dr. + Stubbs's 'History of the University of Dublin', 1889, p. 201 n.) + +P. xi, l. 21. ----- + "a scratched signature upon a window-pane." This, + which is now at Trinity College, Dublin, is here reproduced in + facsimile. When the garrets of No. 35, Parliament Square, were + pulled down in 1837, it was cut out of the window by the last + occupant of the rooms, who broke it in the process. (Dr. J. F. + Waller in Cassell's 'Works' of Goldsmith, [1864-5], pp. xiii-xiv + n.) + +P. xiii, l. 23. ----- + "a poor physician". Where he obtained his + diploma is not known. It was certainly not at Padua + ('Athenaeum', July 21, 1894). At Leyden and Louvain Prior made + inquiries but, in each case, without success. The annals of the + University of Louvain were, however, destroyed in the + revolutionary wars. (Prior, 'Life', 1837, i, pp. 171, 178). + +P. xv, l. 7. ----- + "declared it to be by Goldsmith". Goldsmith's + authorship of this version has now been placed beyond a doubt by + the publication in facsimile of his signed receipt to Edward + Dilly for a third share of 'my translation,' such third share + amounting to 6 pounds 13s. 4d. The receipt, which belongs to Mr. + J. W. Ford of Enfield Old Park, is dated 'January 11th, 1758.' + ('Memoirs of a Protestant', etc., Dent's edition, 1895, i, pp. + xii-xviii.) + +P. xvi, l. 9. ----- + 12, "Green Arbour Court, Old Bailey". This was a + tiny square occupying a site now absorbed by the Holborn Viaduct + and Railway Station. No. 12, where Goldsmith lived, was later + occupied by Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. as a printing office. An + engraving of the Court forms the frontispiece to the 'European + Magazine' for January, 1803. + +P. xvii, l. 29. ----- + "or some of his imitators". The proximate + cause of the 'Citizen of the World', as the present writer has + suggested elsewhere, 'may' have been Horace Walpole's 'Letter + from XoHo [Soho?], a Chinese Philosopher at London, to his + friend Lien Chi, at Peking'. This was noticed as 'in + Montesquieu's manner' in the May issue of the 'Monthly Review' + for 1757, to which Goldsmith was a contributor ('Eighteenth + Century Vignettes', first series, second edition, 1897, pp. + 108-9). + +P. xix, l. 23. ----- + "demonstrable from internal evidence". + e.g.--The references to the musical glasses (ch. ix), which were + the rage in 1761-2; and to the 'Auditor' (ch. xix) established + by Arthur Murphy in June of the latter year. The sale of the + 'Vicar' is discussed at length in chapter vii of the editor's + 'Life of Oliver Goldsmith' ('Great Writers' series), 1888, pp. + 110-21. + +P. xxii, l. 13. ----- + "started with a loss". This, which to some + critics has seemed unintelliglble, rests upon the following: + 'The first three editions,...resulted in a loss, and the fourth, + which was not issued until eight [four?] years after the first, + started with a balance against it of 2 pounds 16s. 6d., and it + was not until that fourth edition had been sold that the balance + came out on the right side' ('A Bookseller of the Last Century' + [John Newbery] by Charles Welsh, 1885, p. 61). The writer based + his statement upon Collins's 'Publishing book, account of books + printed and shares therein, No. 3, 1770 to 1785.' + +P. xxvii, l. 7. ----- + "James's Powder". This was a famous patent + panacea, invented by Johnson's Lichfield townsman, Dr. Robert + James of the 'Medicinal Dictionary'. It was sold by John + Newbery, and had an extraordinary vogue. The King dosed Princess + Elizabeth with it; Fielding, Gray, and Cowper all swore by it, + and Horace Walpole, who wished to try it upon Mme. du Deffand + 'in extremis', said he should use it if the house were on fire. + William Hawes, the Strand apothecary who attended Goldsmith, + wrote an interesting 'Account of the late Dr. Goldsmith's + Illness, so far as relates to the Exhibition of Dr. James's + Powders, etc.', 1774, which he dedicated to Reynolds and Burke. + To Hawes once belonged the poet's worn old wooden writing-desk, + now in the South Kensington Museum, where are also his favourite + chair and cane. Another desk-chair, which had descended from his + friend, Edmund Bott, was recently for sale at Sotheby's (July, + 1906). + + + + + +EDITIONS OF THE POEMS. + +No collected edition of Goldsmith's poetical works appeared until after +his death. But, in 1775, W. Griffin, who had published the 'Essays' of +ten years earlier, issued a volume entitled 'The Miscellaneous Works of +Oliver Goldsmith, M.B., containing all his Essays and Poems'. The +'poems' however were confined to 'The Traveller,' 'The Deserted +Village,' 'Edwin and Angelina,' 'The Double Transformation,' 'A New +Simile,' and 'Retaliation,'--an obviously imperfect harvesting. In the +following year G. Kearsly printed an eighth edition of 'Retaliation', +with which he included 'The Hermit' ('Edwin and Angelina'), 'The Gift,' +'Madam Blaize,' and the epilogues to 'The Sister' and 'She stoops to +Conquer'*; while to an edition of 'The Haunch of Venison', also put +forth in 1776, he added the 'Epitaph on Parnell' and two songs from the +oratorio of 'The Captivity'. The next collection appeared in a volume of +'Poems and Plays' published at Dublin in 1777, where it was preceded by +a 'Life,' written by W. Glover, one of Goldsmith's 'Irish clients.' +Then, in 1780, came vol. i of T. Evans's 'Poetical and Dramatic Works +etc., now first collected', also having a 'Memoir,' and certainly fuller +than anything which had gone before. Next followed the long-deferred +'Miscellaneous Works, etc.', of 1801, in four volumes, vol. ii of which +comprised the plays and poems. Prefixed to this edition is the important +biographical sketch, compiled under the direction of Bishop Percy, and +usually described as the 'Percy Memoir', by which title it is referred +to in the ensuing notes. The next memorable edition was that edited for +the Aldine Series in 1831, by the Rev. John Mitford. Prior and Wright's +edition in vol. iv of the 'Miscellaneous Works, etc.', of 1837, comes +after this; then Bolton Corney's excellent 'Poetical Works' of 1845; and +vol. i of Peter Cunningham's 'Works, etc.' of 1854. There are other +issues of the poems, the latest of which is to be found in vol. ii +(1885) of the complete 'Works', in five volumes, edited for Messrs. +George Bell and Sons by J. W. M. Gibbs. + +[footnote] *Some copies of this are dated 1777, and contain 'The Haunch +of Venison' and a few minor pieces. + +Most of the foregoing editions have been consulted for the following +notes; but chiefly those of Mitford, Prior, Bolton Corney, and +Cunningham. Many of the illustrations and explanations now supplied will +not, however, be found in any of the sources indicated. When an +elucidatory or parallel passage is cited, an attempt has been made, as +far as possible, to give the credit of it to the first discoverer. Thus, +some of the illustrations in Cunningham's notes are here transferred to +Prior, some of Prior's to Mitford, and so forth. As regards the notes +themselves, care has been taken to make them full enough to obviate the +necessity, except in rare instances, of further investigation. It is the +editor's experience that references to external authorities are, as a +general rule, sign-posts to routes which are seldom travelled*. + +[footnote] *In this connexion may be recalled the dictum of Hume quoted +by Dr. Birkbeck Hill:--'Every book should be as complete as possible +within itself, and should never refer for anything material to other +books' ('History of England', 1802, ii. 101). + + + + + +THE TRAVELLER. + +It was on those continental wanderings which occupied Goldsmith between +February, 1755 and February, 1756 that he conceived his first idea of +this, the earliest of his poems to which he prefixed his name; and he +probably had in mind Addison's 'Letter from Italy to Lord Halifax', a +work in which he found 'a strain of political thinking that was, at that +time [1701]. new in our poetry.' ('Beauties of English Poesy', 1767, i. +III). From the dedicatory letter to his brother--which says expressly, +'as a part of this Poem was formerly written to you from Switzerland, +the whole can now, with propriety, be only inscribed to you'--it is +plain that some portion of it must have been actually composed abroad. +It was not, however, actually published until the 19th of December, +1764, and the title-page bore the date of 1765*. The publisher was John +Newbery, of St. Paul's Churchyard, and the price of the book, a quarto +of 30 pages, was 1s. 6d. A second, third and fourth edition quickly +followed, and a ninth, from which it is here reprinted, was issued in +1774, the year of the author's death. Between the first and the sixth +edition of 1770 there were numerous alterations, the more important of +which are indicated in the ensuing notes. + +[footnote] *This is the generally recognized first edition. But the +late Mr. Frederick Locker Lampson, the poet and collector, possessed a +quarto copy, dated 1764, which had no author's name, and in which the +dedication ran as follows:--'This poem is inscribed to the Rev. Henry +Goldsmith, M.A. By his most affectionate Brother Oliver Goldsmith.' It +was, in all probability, unique, though it is alleged that there are +octavo copies which present similar characteristics. It has now gone to +America with the Rowfant Library. + +In 1902 an interesting discovery was made by Mr. Bertram Dobell, to whom +the public are indebted for so many important literary 'finds.' In a +parcel of pamphlets he came upon a number of loose printed leaves +entitled 'A Prospect of Society'. They obviously belonged to 'The +Traveller'; but seemed to be its 'formless unarranged material,' and +contained many variations from the text of the first edition. Mr. +Dobell's impression was that 'the author's manuscript, written on loose +leaves, had fallen into confusion, and was then printed without any +attempt at re-arrangement.' This was near the mark; but the complete +solution of the riddle was furnished by Mr. Quiller Couch in an article +in the 'Daily News' for March 31, 1902, since recast in his charming +volume 'From a Cornish Window', 1906, pp. 86-92. He showed conclusively +that 'The Prospect' was 'merely an early draft of 'The Traveller' +printed backwards in fairly regular sections.' What had manifestly +happened was this. Goldsmith, turning over each page as written, had +laid it on the top of the preceding page of MS. and forgotten to +rearrange them when done. Thus the series of pages were reversed; and, +so reversed, were set up in type by a matter-of-fact compositor. Mr. +Dobell at once accepted this happy explanation; which--as Mr. Quiller +Couch points out--has the advantage of being a 'blunder just so natural +to Goldsmith as to be almost postulable.' One or two of the variations +of Mr. Dobell's 'find'--variations, it should be added, antecedent to +the first edition--are noted in their places. + +The didactic purpose of 'The Traveller' is defined in the concluding +paragraph of the 'Dedication'; and, like many of the thoughts which it +contains, had been anticipated in a passage of 'The Citizen of the +World', 1762, i. 185:--'Every mind seems capable of entertaining a +certain quantity of happiness, which no institutions can encrease, no +circumstances alter, and entirely independent on fortune.' But the best +short description of the poem is Macaulay's:--'In the 'Traveller' the +execution, though deserving of much praise, is far inferior to the +design. No philosophical poem, ancient or modern, has a plan so noble, +and at the same time so simple. An English wanderer, seated on a crag +among the Alps, near the point where three great countries meet, looks +down on the boundless prospect, reviews his long pilgrimage, recalls the +varieties of scenery, of climate, of government, of religion, of +national character, which he has observed, and comes to the conclusion, +just or unjust, that our happiness depends little on political +institutions, and much on the temper and regulation of our own minds.' +('Encyclop. Britannica', Goldsmith, February, 1856.) + +The only definite record of payment for 'The Traveller' is 'Copy of the +Traveller, a Poem, 21l,' in Newbery's MSS.; but as the same sum occurs +in Memoranda of much later date than 1764, it is possible that the +success of the book may have prompted some supplementary fee. + +'A Prospect', i.e. 'a view.' 'I went to Putney, and other places on the +Thames, to take 'prospects' in crayon, to carry into France, where I +thought to have them engraved' (Evelyn, 'Diary', 20th June, 1649). And +Reynolds uses the word of Claude in his Fourth Discourse:--'His pictures +are a composition of the various draughts which he had previously made +from various beautiful scenes and prospects' ('Works', by Malone, 1798, +i. 105). The word is common on old prints, e.g. 'An Exact Prospect of +the Magnificent Stone Bridge at Westminster', etc., 1751. + +'Dedication'. The Rev. Henry Goldsmith, says the Percy 'Memoir', 1801, +p. 3, 'had distinguished himself both at school and at college, but he +unfortunately married at the early age of nineteen; which confined him +to a Curacy, and prevented his rising to preferment in the church.' + +l. 14. ----- + "with an income of forty pounds a year". Cf. 'The Deserted + Village', ll.141-2:-- + + A man he was, to all the country dear, + And passing rich with 'forty pounds a year'. + + Cf. also Parson Adams in ch. iii of 'Joseph Andrews', who has + twenty-three; and Mr. Rivers, in the 'Spiritual Quixote', + 1772:--'I do not choose to go into orders to be a curate all my + life-time, and work for about fifteen-pence a day, or + twenty-five pounds a year' (bk. vi, ch. xvii). Dr. Primrose's + stipend is thirty-five in the first instance, fifteen in the + second ('Vicar of Wakefield', chapters ii and iii). But + Professor Hales ('Longer English Poems', 1885, p. 351) supplies + an exact parallel in the case of Churchill, who, he says, when + a curate at Rainham, 'prayed and starved on 'forty pounds a + year'.' The latter words are Churchill's own, and sound like a + quotation; but he was dead long before 'The Deserted Village' + appeared in 1770. There is an interesting paper in the + 'Gentleman's Magazine' for November, 1763, on the miseries and + hardships of the 'inferior clergy.' + +l. 20. ----- + But of all kinds of ambition", etc. In the first edition of + 1765, p. ii, this passage was as follows:--'But of all kinds of + ambition, as things are now circumstanced, perhaps that which + pursues poetical fame, is the wildest. What from the encreased + refinement of the times, from the diversity of judgments + produced by opposing systems of criticism, and from the more + prevalent divisions of opinion influenced by party, the + strongest and happiest efforts can expect to please but in a + very narrow circle. Though the poet were as sure of his aim as + the imperial archer of antiquity, who boasted that he never + missed the heart; yet would many of his shafts now fly at + random, for the heart is too often in the wrong place.' In the + second edition it was curtailed; in the sixth it took its final + form. + +l. 29. ----- + "they engross all that favour once shown to her". First + version--'They engross all favour to themselves.' + +l. 30. ----- + "the elder's birthright". Cunningham here aptly compares + Dryden's epistle 'To Sir Godfrey Kneller', II. 89-92:-- + + Our arts are sisters, though not twins in birth; + For hymns were sung in Eden's happy earth: + But oh, the painter muse, though last in place, + Has seized the blessing first, like Jacob's race. + +l. 42. ----- + "Party"=faction. Cf. lines 31-2 on Edmund Burke in + 'Retaliation':-- + + Who, born for the Universe, narrow'd his mind, + And to 'party' gave up what was meant for mankind. + +l. 50. ----- + "Such readers generally admire", etc. 'I suppose this paragraph + to be directed against Paul Whitehead, or Churchill,' writes + Mitford. It was clearly aimed at Churchill, since Prior ('Life', + 1837, ii. 54) quotes a portion of a contemporary article in the + 'St. James's Chronicle' for February 7-9, 1765, attributed to + Bonnell Thornton, which leaves little room for doubt upon the + question. 'The latter part of this paragraph,' says the writer, + referring to the passage now annotated, 'we cannot help + considering as a reflection on the memory of the late Mr. + Churchill, whose talents as a poet were so greatly and so + deservedly admired, that during his short reign, his merit in + great measure eclipsed that of others; and we think it no mean + acknowledgment of the excellencies of this poem ['The + Traveller'] to say that, like the stars, they appear the more + brilliant now that the sun of our poetry is gone down.' + Churchill died on the 4th of November, 1764, some weeks before + the publication of 'The Traveller'. His powers, it may be, were + misdirected and misapplied; but his rough vigour and his manly + verse deserved a better fate at Goldsmith's hands. + +l. 53. ----- + "tawdry" was added in the sixth edition of 1770. + +l. 56. ----- + "blank verse". Cf. 'The Present State of Polite + Learning', 1759, p. 150--'From a desire in the critic of + grafting the spirit of ancient languages upon the English, has + proceeded of late several disagreeable instances of pedantry. + Among the number, I think we may reckon 'blank verse'. Nothing + but the greatest sublimity of subject can render such a measure + pleasing; however, we now see it used on the most trivial + occasions'--by which last remark Goldsmith probably, as + Cunningham thinks, intended to refer to the efforts of Akenside, + Dyer, and Armstrong. His views upon blank verse were shared by + Johnson and Gray. At the date of the present dedication, the + latest offender in this way had been Goldsmith's old colleague + on 'The Monthly Review', Dr. James Grainger, author of 'The + Sugar Cane', which was published in June, 1764. (Cf. also 'The + Bee' for 24th November, 1759, 'An account of the Augustan Age of + England.') + +l. 62. ----- + "and that this principle", etc. In the first edition + this read--'and that this principle in each state, and in our + own in particular, may be carried to a mischievous excess.' + +l. 1. ----- + "Remote, unfriended, melancholy, slow". Mitford (Aldine + edition, 1831, p. 7) compares the following lines from Ovid:-- + + Solus, inops, exspes, leto poenaeque relictus. + 'Metamorphoses', xiv. 217. + Exsul, inops erres, alienaque limina lustres, etc. + 'Ibis'. 113. + + "slow". A well-known passage from Boswell must here be + reproduced:--'Chamier once asked him [Goldsmith], what he meant + by 'slow', the last word in the first line of 'The Traveller', + + Remote, unfriended, melancholy, slow. + + Did he mean tardiness of locomotion? Goldsmith, who would say + something without consideration, answered "yes." I [Johnson] was + sitting by, and said, "No, Sir, you do not mean tardiness of + locomotion; you mean, that sluggishness of mind which comes upon + a man in solitude." Chamier believed then that I had written the + line as much as if he had seen me write it.' [Birkbeck Hill's + 'Boswell', 1887, iii. 252-3.) It is quite possible, however, + that Goldsmith meant no more than he said. + +l. 3. ----- + "the rude Carinthian boor". 'Carinthia,' says Cunningham, 'was + visited by Goldsmith in 1755, and still (1853) retains its + character for inhospitality.' + +l. 5. ----- + "Campania". 'Intended,' says Bolton Corney, 'to denote + 'La campagna di Roma'. The portion of it which extends from Rome + to Terracina is scarcely habitable.' + +l. 10. ----- + "a lengthening chain". Prior compares Letter iii of 'The + Citizen of the World', 1762, i. 5:--'The farther I travel I feel + the pain of separation with stronger force, those ties that bind + me to my native country, and you, are still unbroken. By every + remove, I only drag a greater length of chain.' But, as Mitford + points out, Cibber has a similar thought in his 'Comical + Lovers', 1707, Act v:--'When I am with Florimel, it [my heart] + is still your prisoner, 'it only draws a longer chain after + it'.' And earlier still in Dryden's 'All for Love', 1678, Act + ii, Sc. 1:-- + + My life on't, he still drags a chain along, + That needs must clog his flight. + +l. 17. ----- + "with simple plenty crown'd". In the first edition this read + 'where mirth and peace abound.' + +l. 22. ----- + "the luxury of doing good". Prior compares Garth's 'Claremont', + 1715, where he speaks of the Druids:-- + + Hard was their Lodging, homely was their Food, + For all their 'Luxury was doing Good'. + +l. 24. ----- + "my prime of life". He was seven-and-twenty when he + landed at Dover in February, 1756. + +l. 27. ----- + "That, like the circle bounding", etc. Cf. 'Vicar of + Wakefield', 1766, ii. 160-1 (ch. x):--'Death, the only friend of + the wretched, for a little while mocks the weary traveller with + the view, and like his horizon, still flies before him.' + [Prior.] + +l. 30. ----- + "And find no spot of all the world my own". Prior + compares his namesake's lines 'In the Beginning of [Jacques] + Robbe's Geography', 1700:-- + + My destin'd Miles I shall have gone, + By THAMES or MAESE, by PO or RHONE, + And found no Foot of Earth my own. + +l. 33. ----- + "above the storm's career". Cf. 1. 190 of 'The Deserted + Village'. + +l. 38. ----- + "should thankless pride repine?" First edition, + ''twere thankless to repine.' + +l. 39. ----- + "Say, should the philosophic mind", etc. First edition:-- + + 'Twere affectation all, and school-taught pride, + To spurn the splendid things by heaven supply'd + +l. 58. ----- + "hoard". 'Sum' in the first edition. + +l. 66. ----- + "Boldly proclaims that happiest spot his own". In the first + version this was-- + + Boldly asserts that country for his own. + +l. 75. ----- + "And yet, perhaps", etc. In the first edition, for this and the + following five lines appeared these eight:-- + + And yet, perhaps, if states with states we scan, + Or estimate their bliss on Reason's plan, + Though patriots flatter, and though fools contend, + We still shall find uncertainty suspend; + Find that each good, by Art or Nature given, + To these or those, but makes the balance even: + Find that the bliss of all is much the same, + And patriotic boasting reason's shame! + +l. 84. ----- + "On Idra's cliffs". Bolton Corney conjectures that + Goldsmith meant 'Idria, a town in Carniola, noted for its + mines.' 'Goldsmith in his "History of Animated Nature" makes + mention of the mines, and spells the name in the same way as + here.' (Mr. J. H. Lobban's 'Select Poems of Goldsmith', 1900, p. + 87). Lines 84-5, it may be added, are not in the first edition. + +l. 85. ----- + "And though the rocky-crested summits frown". In the + first edition:-- + And though rough rocks or gloomy summits frown. + +ll. 91-2 ----- + are not in the first editions. + +l. 98. ----- + "peculiar", i.e. 'proper,' 'appropriate.' + +l. 122. ----- + "winnow", i.e. 'waft,' 'disperse.' John Evelyn refers to these + 'sea-born gales' in the 'Dedication' of his 'Fumifugium', + 1661:--'Those who take notice of the scent of the orange-flowers + from the rivage of Genoa, and St. Pietro dell' Arena; the + blossomes of the rosemary from the Coasts of Spain, many leagues + off at sea; or the manifest, and odoriferous wafts which flow + from Fontenay and Vaugirard, even to Paris in the season of + roses, with the contrary effect of those less pleasing smells + from other accidents, will easily consent to what I suggest + [i.e. the planting of sweet-smelling trees].' ('Miscellaneous + Writings', 1825, p. 208.) + +l. 139. ----- + "Till, more unsteady', etc. In the first edition:-- + + But, more unsteady than the southern gale, + Soon Commerce turn'd on other shores her sail. + + There is a certain resemblance between this passage and one of + the later paradoxes of Smollett's Lismahago;--'He affirmed, the + nature of commerce was such, that it could not be fixed or + perpetuated, but, having flowed to a certain height, would + immediately begin to ebb, and so continue till the channels + should be left almost dry; but there was no instance of the + tide's rising a second time to any considerable influx in the + same nation' ('Humphry Clinker', 1771, ii. 192. Letter of Mr. + Bramble to Dr. Lewis). + +ll. 141-2 ----- + are not in the first edition. + +l. 144. ----- + "Its former strength was but plethoric ill". Cf. 'The + Citizen of the World', 1762, i. 98:--'In short, the state + resembled one of those bodies bloated with disease, whose bulk + is only a symptom of its wretchedness.' [Mitford.] + +l. 145. ----- + "Yet still the loss", etc. In the first edition:-- + + Yet, though to fortune lost, here still abide + Some splendid arts, the wrecks of former pride. + +l. 150. ----- + "The paste-board triumph and the cavalcade". 'Happy + Country [he is speaking of Italy], where the pastoral age begins + to revive! Where the wits even of Rome are united into a rural + groupe of nymphs and swains, under the appellation of modern + Arcadians [i.e. the Bolognese Academy of the 'Arcadi']. Where in + the midst of porticos, processions, and cavalcades, abbes turn'd + into shepherds, and shepherdesses without sheep, indulge their + innocent 'divertimenti'.' ('Present State of Polite Learning', + 1759, pp. 50-1.) Some of the 'paste-board triumphs' may be + studied in the plates of Jacques Callot. + +l. 153. ----- + "By sports like these", etc. A pretty and well-known + story is told with regard to this couplet. Calling once on + Goldsmith, Reynolds, having vainly tried to attract attention, + entered unannounced. 'His friend was at his desk, but with hand + uplifted, and a look directed to another part of the room; where + a little dog sat with difficulty on his haunches, looking + imploringly at his teacher, whose rebuke for toppling over he + had evidently just received. Reynolds advanced, and looked past + Goldsmith's shoulder at the writing on his desk. It seemed to be + some portions of a poem; and looking more closely, he was able + to read a couplet which had been that instant written. The ink + of the second line was wet:-- + + By sports like these are all their cares beguil'd; + The sports of children satisfy the child. + (Forster's 'Life', 1871, i. pp. 347-8). + +l. 154. ----- + "The sports of children". This line, in the first edition, was + followed by:-- + + At sports like these, while foreign arms advance, + In passive ease they leave the world to chance. + +l. 155. ----- + "Each nobler aim", etc. The first edition reads:-- + + When struggling Virtue sinks by long controul, + She leaves at last, or feebly mans the soul. + + This was changed in the second, third, fourth, and fifth + editions to:-- + + When noble aims have suffer'd long controul, + They sink at last, or feebly man the soul. + +l. 169. ----- + "No product here", etc. The Swiss mercenaries, here referred + to, were long famous in European warfare. + + They parted with a thousand kisses, + And fight e'er since for pay, like Swisses. + Gay's 'Aye and No, a Fable'. + +l. 185. ----- + This fine use of 'breasts'--as Cunningham points out--is given + by Johnson as an example in his Dictionary. + +l. 187. ----- + "With patient angle, trolls the finny deep". 'Troll,' i.e. as + for pike. Goldsmith uses 'finny prey' in 'The Citizen of the + World', 1762, ii. 99:--'The best manner to draw up the 'finny + prey'.' Cf. also 'warbling grove,' 'Deserted Village', l. 361, + as a parallel to 'finny deep.' + +l. 190. ----- + "the struggling savage", i.e. wolf or bear. Mitford + compares the following:--'He is a beast of prey, and the laws + should make use of as many stratagems and as much force to drive + the 'reluctant savage' into the toils, as the Indians when they + hunt the hyena or the rhinoceros.' ('Citizen of the World', + 1762, i. 112.) See also Pope's 'Iliad', Bk. xvii:-- + + But if the 'savage' turns his glaring eye, + They howl aloof, and round the forest fly. + +ll. 201-2 ----- + are not in the first edition. + +l. 213. ----- + "For every want", etc. Mitford quotes a parallel + passage in 'Animated Nature', 1774, ii. 123:-- + + 'Every want thus becomes a means of pleasure, in the redressing.' + +l. 228. ----- + "Their morals, like their pleasures, are but low". + Probably Goldsmith only uses 'low' here in its primitive sense, + and not in that which, in his own day, gave so much umbrage to + so many eighteenth-century students of humanity in the rough. + Cf. Fielding, 'Tom Jones', 1749, iii. 6:--'Some of the Author's + Friends cry'd--"Look'e, Gentlemen, the Man is a Villain; but it + is Nature for all that." And all the young Critics of the Age, + the Clerks, Apprentices, etc., called it 'Low' and fell a + Groaning.' See also 'Tom Jones', iv. 94, and 226-30. 'There's + nothing comes out but the 'most lowest' stuff in nature'--says + Lady Blarney in ch. xi of the 'Vicar', whose author is eloquent + on this topic in 'The Present State of Polite Learning', 1759, + pp. 154-6, and in 'She Stoops to Conquer, 1773 (Act i); while + Graves ('Spiritual Quixote', 1772, bk. i, ch. vi) gives the + fashion the scientific appellation of 'tapino-phoby,' which he + defines as 'a dread of everything that is 'low', either in + writing or in conversation.' To Goldsmith, if we may trust + George Colman's 'Prologue' to Miss Lee's 'Chapter of Accidents', + 1780, belongs the credit of exorcising this particular form of + depreciation:-- + + When Fielding, Humour's fav'rite child, appear'd, + 'Low' was the word--a word each author fear'd! + Till chas'd at length, by pleasantry's bright ray, + Nature and mirth resum'd their legal sway; + And Goldsmith's genius bask'd in open day. + + According to Borrow's 'Lavengro', ch. xli, Lord Chesterfield + considered that the speeches of Homer's heroes were frequently + 'exceedingly low.' + +l. 243. ----- + "How often", etc. This and the lines which immediately + follow are autobiographical. Cf. George Primrose's story in 'The + Vicar of Wakefield', 1766, ii. 24-5 (ch. i):--'I passed among + the harmless peasants of Flanders, and among such of the French + as were poor enough to be very merry; for I ever found them + sprightly in proportion to their wants. Whenever I approached a + peasant's house towards night-fall, I played one of my most + merry tunes, and that procured me not only a lodging, but + subsistence for the next day.' + +l. 253. ----- + "gestic lore", i.e. traditional gestures or motions. + Scott uses the word 'gestic' in 'Peveril of the Peak', ch. xxx, + where King Charles the Second witnesses the dancing of + Fenella:--'He bore time to her motions with the movement of his + foot--applauded with head and with hand--and seemed, like + herself, carried away by the enthusiasm of the 'gestic' art.' + [Hales.] + +l. 256. ----- + "Thus idly busy rolls their world away". Pope has 'Life's + 'idle business'' ('Unfortunate Lady', l. 81), and-- + + The 'busy, idle' blockheads of the ball. + Donne's 'Satires', iv. l. 203. + +l. 264. ----- + "And all are taught an avarice of praise". Professor Hales + ('Longer English Poems') compares Horace of the Greeks:-- + + Praeter laudem, nullius avaris. + 'Ars Poetica', l. 324. + +l. 275. ----- + "copper lace". 'St Martin's lace,' for which, in Strype's day, + Blowbladder St. was famous. Cf. the actress's 'copper tail' in + 'Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 60. + +l. 281. ----- + "To men of other minds", etc. Prior compares with the + description that follows a passage in vol. i. p. 276 of + 'Animated Nature', 1774:--'But we need scarce mention these, + when we find that the whole kingdom of Holland seems to be a + conquest upon the sea, and in a manner rescued from its bosom. + The surface of the earth, in this country, is below the level of + the bed of the sea; and I remember, upon approaching the coast, + to have looked down upon it from the sea, as into a valley.' + +l. 284. ----- + "Where the broad ocean leans against the land". Cf. + Dryden in 'Annus Mirabilis', 1666, st. clxiv. l. 654:-- + + And view the ocean leaning on the sky. + +l. 286. ----- + "the tall rampire's", i.e. rampart's (Old French, 'rempart, + rempar'). Cf. 'Timon of Athens', Act v. Sc. 4:-- + 'Our rampir'd gates.' + +l. 299. ----- + "bosom reign" in the first edition was 'breast obtain.' + +l. 306. ----- + "Even liberty itself is barter'd here". 'Slavery,' says + Mitford, 'was permitted in Holland; children were sold by their + parents for a certain number of years.' + +l. 309. ----- + "A land of tyrants, and a den of slaves". Goldsmith uses this + very line as prose in Letter xxxiv of + 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, i. 147. + +l. 310. ----- + "dishonourable graves". 'Julius Caesar', Act i. Sc. 2. + +l. 313. ----- + "Heavens! how unlike", etc. Prior compares a passage from a + manuscript 'Introduction to the History of the Seven Years' + War':--'How unlike the brave peasants their ancestors, who + spread terror into either India, and always declared themselves + the allies of those who drew the sword in defence of freedom*.' + + [footnote] *J. W. M. Gibbs ('Works', v. 9) discovered that parts + of this 'History', hitherto supposed to have been written in + 1761, were published in the 'Literary Magazine', 1757-8. + +l. 320. ----- + "famed Hydaspes", i.e. the 'fabulosus Hydaspes' of + Horace, Bk. i. Ode xxii, and the 'Medus Hydaspes' of Virgil, + 'Georg', iv. 211, of which so many stores were told. It is now + known as the Jhilum, one of the five rivers which give the + Punjaub its name. + +l. 327. ----- + "Pride in their port", etc. In the first edition these + two lines were inverted. + +l. 343. ----- + "Here by the bonds of nature feebly held". In the + first edition-- + + See, though by circling deeps together held. + +l. 349. ----- + "Nature's ties" was 'social bonds' in the first edition. + +l. 358. ----- + "Where kings have toil'd, and poets wrote for fame". In the + first edition this line read:-- + + And monarchs toil, and poets pant for fame. + +l. 361. ----- + "Yet think not', etc. 'In the things I have hitherto + written I have neither allured the vanity of the great by + flattery, nor satisfied the malignity of the vulgar by scandal, + but I have endeavoured to get an honest reputation by liberal + pursuits.' + (Preface to 'English History'.) [Mitford.] + +l. 363. ----- + "Ye powers of truth", etc. The first version has:-- + + Perish the wish; for, inly satisfy'd, + Above their pomps I hold my ragged pride. + + Mr. Forster thinks ('Life', 1871, i. 375) that Goldsmith altered + this (i.e. 'ragged pride') because, like the omitted 'Haud + inexpertus loquor' of the 'Enquiry', it involved an undignified + admission. + +ll. 365-80 ----- + are not in the first edition. + +l. 382. ----- + "Contracting regal power to stretch their own". 'It is + the interest of the great, therefore, to diminish kingly power + as much as possible; because whatever they take from it is + naturally restored to themselves; and all they have to do in a + state, is to undermine the single tyrant, by which they resume + their primaeval authority.' ('Vicar of Wakefield', 1766, i. 202, + ch. xix.) + +l. 383. ----- + "When I behold", etc. Prior compares a passage in + Letter xlix of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, i. 218, where + the Roman senators are spoken of as still flattering the people + 'with a shew of freedom, while themselves only were free.' + +l. 386. ----- + "Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law". + Prior notes a corresponding utterance in 'The Vicar of + Wakefield', 1766, i. 206, ch. xix:--'What they may then expect, + may be seen by turning our eyes to Holland, Genoa, or Venice, + where the laws govern the poor, and the rich govern the law.' + +l. 392. ----- + "I fly from petty tyrants to the throne". Cf. Dr. + Primrose, 'ut supra', p. 201:--'The generality of mankind also + are of my way of thinking, and have unanimously created one + king, whose election at once diminishes the number of tyrants, + and puts tyranny at the greatest distance from the greatest + number of people.' Cf. also Churchill, 'The Farewell', ll. 363-4 + and 369-70:-- + + Let not a Mob of Tyrants seize the helm, + Nor titled upstarts league to rob the realm... + Let us, some comfort in our griefs to bring, + Be slaves to one, and be that one a King. + +ll. 393-4. ----- + Goldsmith's first thought was-- + + Yes, my lov'd brother, cursed be that hour + When first ambition toil'd for foreign power,-- + + an entirely different couplet to that in the text, and certainly + more logical. (Dobell's 'Prospect of Society', 1902, pp. xi, 2, + and Notes, v, vi). Mr. Dobell plausibly suggests that this Tory + substitution is due to Johnson. + +l. 397. ----- + "Have we not seen", etc. These lines contain the first + idea of the subsequent poem of 'The Deserted Village' ('q.v.'). + +l. 411. ----- + "Where wild Oswego spreads her swamps around". The + Oswego is a river which runs between Lakes Oneida and Ontario. + In the 'Threnodia Augustalis', 1772, Goldsmith writes:-- + + Oswego's dreary shores shall be my grave. + + The 'desarts of Oswego' were familiar to the eighteenth-century + reader in connexion with General Braddock's ill-fated expedition + of 1755, an account of which Goldsmith had just given in 'An + History of England, in a Series of Letters from a Nobleman to + his Son', 1764, ii. 202-4. + +l. 416. ----- + "marks with murderous aim". In the first edition + 'takes a deadly aim.' + +l. 419. ----- + "pensive exile". This, in the version mentioned in the + next note, was 'famish'd exile.' + +l. 420. ----- + "To stop too fearful, and too faint to go". This line, + upon Boswell's authority, is claimed for Johnson (Birkbeck + Hill's 'Boswell', 1887, ii. 6). Goldsmith's original ran:-- + + And faintly fainter, fainter seems to go. + + (Dobell's 'Prospect of Society', 1902, p. 3). + +l. 429. ----- + "How small, of all," etc. Johnson wrote these + concluding ten lines with the exception of the penultimate + couplet. They and line 420 were all--he told Boswell--of which + he could be sure (Birkbeck Hill's 'Boswell, ut supra'). Like + Goldsmith, he sometimes worked his prose ideas into his verse. + The first couplet is apparently a reminiscence of a passage in + his own 'Rasselas', 1759, ii. 112, where the astronomer speaks + of 'the task of a king...who has the care only of a few + millions, to whom he cannot do much good or harm.' (Grant's + 'Johnson', 1887, p. 89.) 'I would not give half a guinea to live + under one form of government rather than another,' he told that + 'vile Whig,' Sir Adam Fergusson, in 1772. 'It is of no moment to + the happiness of an individual' (Birkbeck Hill's 'Boswell', + 1887, ii. 170). + +l. 435. ----- + "The lifted axe". Mitford here recalls Blackmore's + + Some the sharp axe, and some the painful wheel. + + The 'lifted axe' he also traces to Young and Blackmore, with + both of whom Goldsmith seems to have been familiar; but it is + surely not necessary to assume that he borrowed from either in + this instance. + +l. 436. ----- + "Luke's iron crown". George and Luke Dosa, or Doscha, + headed a rebellion in Hungary in 1513. The former was proclaimed + king by the peasants; and, in consequence suffered, among other + things, the torture of the red-hot iron crown. Such a punishment + took place at Bordeaux when Montaigne was seventeen (Morley's + Florio's 'Montaigne', 1886, p. xvi). Much ink has been shed over + Goldsmith's lapse of 'Luke' for George. In the book which he + cited as his authority, the family name of the brothers was + given as Zeck,--hence Bolton Corney, in his edition of the + 'Poetical Works', 1845, p. 36, corrected the line to-- + +'Zeck's' iron crown, etc., + + an alteration which has been adopted by other editors. (See + also Forster's 'Life', 1871, i. 370.) + "Damien's bed of steel". Robert-Francois Damiens, 1714-57. + Goldsmith writes 'Damien's.' In the 'Gentlemen's Magazine' for + 1757, vol. xxvii. pp. 87 and 151, where there is an account of + this poor half-witted wretch's torture and execution for + attempting to assassinate Louis XV, the name is thus spelled, as + also in other contemporary records and caricatures. The + following passage explains the 'bed of steel':--'Being conducted + to the Conciergerie, an 'iron bed', which likewise served for a + chair, was prepared for him, and to this he was fastened with + chains. The torture was again applied, and a physician ordered + to attend to see what degree of pain he could support,' etc. + (Smollett's 'History of England', 1823, bk. iii, ch. 7, ¤ xxv.) + Goldsmith's own explanation--according to Tom Davies, the + bookseller--was that he meant the rack. But Davies may have + misunderstood him, or Goldsmith himself may have forgotten the + facts. (See Forster's 'Life', 1871, i. 370.) At pp. 57-78 of the + 'Monthly Review' for July, 1757 (upon which Goldsmith was at + this date employed), is a summary, 'from our correspondent at + Paris,' of the official record of the Damiens' Trial, 4 vols. 12 + mo.; and his deed and tragedy make a graphic chapter in the + remarkable 'Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous', by George + Augustus Sala, 1863, iii. pp. 154-180. + +l. 438. ----- + In the first edition of 'The Traveller' there are only + 416 lines. + + + + + +THE DESERTED VILLAGE. + +After having been for some time announced as in preparation, 'The +Deserted Village' made its first appearance on May 26, 1770*. It was +received with great enthusiasm. In June a second, third, and fourth +edition followed, and in August a fifth was published. The text here +given is that of the fourth edition, which was considerably revised. +Johnson, we are told, thought 'The Deserted Village' inferior to 'The +Traveller': but 'time,' to use Mr. Forster's words, 'has not confirmed +'that' judgment.' Its germ is perhaps to be found in ll. 397-402 of the +earlier poem. Much research has been expended in the endeavour to +identify the scene with Lissoy, the home of the poet's youth (see +'Introduction', p. ix); but the result has only been partially +successful. The truth seems that Goldsmith, living in England, recalled +in a poem that was English in its conception many of the memories and +accessories of his early life in Ireland, without intending or even +caring to draw an exact picture. Hence, as Lord Macaulay has observed, +in a much criticized and characteristic passage, 'it is made up of +incongruous parts. The village in its happy days is a true English +village. The village in its decay is an Irish village. The felicity and +the misery which Goldsmith has brought close together belong to two +different countries, and to two different stages in the progress of +society. He had assuredly never seen in his native island such a rural +paradise, such a seat of plenty, content, and tranquillity, as his +"Auburn." He had assuredly never seen in England all the inhabitants of +such a paradise turned out of their homes in one day and forced to +emigrate in a body to America. The hamlet he had probably seen in Kent; +the ejectment he had probably seen in Munster; but, by joining the two, +he has produced something which never was and never will be seen in any +part of the world.' ('Encyclop. Britannica', 1856.) It is obvious also +that in some of his theories--the depopulation of the kingdom, for +example--Goldsmith was mistaken. But it was not for its didactic +qualities then, nor is it for them now, that 'The Deserted Village' +delighted and delights. It maintains its popularity by its charming +'genre'-pictures, its sweet and tender passages, its simplicity, its +sympathetic hold upon the enduring in human nature. To test it solely +with a view to establish its topographical accuracy, or to insist too +much upon the value of its ethical teaching, is to mistake its real +mission as a work of art. + +[footnote] *In the American 'Bookman' for February, 1901, pp. 563-7, Mr. +Luther S. Livingston gives an account (with facsimile title-pages) of +three 'octavo' (or rather duodecimo) editions all dated 1770; and +ostensibly printed for 'W. Griffin, at Garrick's Head, in +Catherine-street, Strand.' He rightly describes their existence as 'a +bibliographical puzzle.' They afford no important variations; are not +mentioned by the early editors; and are certainly not in the form in +which the poem was first advertised and reviewed, as this was a quarto. +But they are naturally of interest to the collector; and the late +Colonel Francis Grant, a good Goldsmith scholar, described one of them +in the 'Athenaeum' for June 20, 1896 (No. 3582). + + +"Dedication", l. 6. ----- + "I am ignorant of that art in which you are + said to excel". This modest confession did not prevent Goldsmith + from making fun of the contemporary connoisseur. See the letter + from the young virtuoso in 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, i. + 145, announcing that a famous 'torse' has been discovered to be + not 'a Cleopatra bathing' but 'a Hercules spinning'; and Charles + Primrose's experiences at Paris ('Vicar of Wakefield', 1766, ii. + 27-8). + +l. 14. ----- + "He is since dead". Henry Goldsmith died in May, 1768, + at the age of forty-five, being then curate of Kilkenny West. + (See note, p. 164.) + +l. 33. ----- + "a long poem". 'I might dwell upon such thoughts...were + I not afraid of making this preface too tedious; especially + since I shall want all the patience of the reader, for having + enlarged it with the following verses.' (Tickell's Preface to + Addison's 'Works', at end.) + +l. 35. ----- + "the increase of our luxuries". The evil of luxury was + a 'common topick' with Goldsmith. (Birkbeck Hill's 'Boswell', + 1887, ii. 217-8.) Smollett also, speaking with the voice of + Lismahago, and continuing the quotation on p. 169, was of the + opinion that 'the sudden affluence occasioned by trade, forced + open all the sluices of luxury, and overflowed the land with + every species of profligacy and corruption.' ('Humphry Clinker', + 1771, ii. 192.--Letter of Mr. Bramble to Dr. Lewis.) + +l. 1. ----- + "'Sweet' AUBURN". Forster, 'Life', 1871, ii. 206, says + that Goldsmith obtained this name from Bennet Langton. There is + an Aldbourn or Auburn in Wiltshire, not far from Marlborough, + which Prior thinks may have furnished the suggestion. + +l. 6. ----- + "Seats of my youth". This alone would imply that + Goldsmith had in mind the environment of his Irish home. + +l. 12. ----- + "The decent church that topp'd the neighbouring hill". + This corresponds with the church of Kilkenny West as seen from + the house at Lissoy. + +l. 13. ----- + "The hawthorn bush". The Rev. Annesley Strean, Henry + Goldsmith's successor at Kilkenny West, well remembered the + hawthorn bush in front of the village ale-house. It had + originally three trunks; but when he wrote in 1807 only one + remained, 'the other two having been cut, from time to time, by + persons carrying pieces of it away to be made into toys, etc., + in honour of the bard, and of the celebrity of his poem.' + ('Essay on Light Reading', by the Rev. Edward Mangin, M.A., + 1808, 142-3.) Its remains were enclosed by a Captain Hogan + previously to 1819; but nevertheless when Prior visited the + place in 1830, nothing was apparent but 'a very tender shoot + [which] had again forced its way to the surface.' (Prior, + 'Life', 1837, ii. 264.) An engraving of the tree by S. Alken, + from a sketch made in 1806-9, is to be found at p. 41 of + Goldsmith's 'Poetical Works', R. H. Newell's edition, 1811, and + is reproduced in the present volume. + +l. 15. ----- + "How often have I bless'd the coming day". Prior, + 'Life', 1837, ii. 261, finds in this an allusion 'to the Sundays + or numerous holidays, usually kept in Roman Catholic countries.' + +l. 37. ----- + "Amidst thy bowers the tyrant's hand is seen". Strean's + explanation (Mangin, 'ut supra', pp. 140-1) of this is as + follows:--'The poem of 'The Deserted Village', took its origin + from the circumstance of general Robert Napper [Napier or + Naper], (the grandfather of the gentleman who now [1807] lives + in the house, within half a mile of Lissoy, and built by the + general) having purchased an extensive tract of the country + surrounding Lissoy, or 'Auburn'; in consequence of which many + families, here called 'cottiers', were removed, to make room for + the intended improvements of what was now to become the wide + domain of a rich man, warm with the idea of changing the face of + his new acquisition; and were forced, "with fainting steps," to + go in search of "torrid tracts" and "distant climes."' + + Prior ('Life', 1837, i. 40-3) points out that Goldsmith was not + the first to give poetical expression to the wrongs of the + dispossessed Irish peasantry; and he quotes a long extract from + the 'Works' (1741) of a Westmeath poet, Lawrence Whyte, which + contains such passages as these:-- + + Their native soil were forced to quit, + So Irish landlords thought it fit; + Who without ceremony or rout, + For their improvements turn'd them out... + How many villages they razed, + How many parishes laid waste... + Whole colonies, to shun the fate + Of being oppress'd at such a rate, + By tyrants who still raise their rent, + Sail'd to the Western Continent. + + +l. 44. ----- + "The hollow-sounding bittern guards its nest". 'Of all + those sounds,' says Goldsmith, speaking of the cries of + waterfowl, 'there is none so dismally hollow as the booming of + the bittern.' ...'I remember in the place where I was a boy with + what terror this bird's note affected the whole village; they + considered it as the presage of some sad event; and generally + found or made one to succeed it.' ('Animated Nature', 1774, vi. + 1-2, 4.) + + Bewick, who may be trusted to speak of a bird which he has drawn + with such exquisite fidelity, refers ('Water Birds', 1847, p. + 49) to 'the hollow booming noise which the bittern makes during + the night, in the breeding season, from its swampy retreats.' + Cf. also that close observer Crabbe ('The Borough', Letter xxii, + ll. 197-8):-- + + And the loud bittern, from the bull-rush home, + Gave from the salt-ditch side the bellowing boom. + +l. 53. ----- + "Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade; + A breath can make them, as a breath has made". + + Mitford compares 'Confessio Amantis', fol. 152:-- + + A kynge may make a lorde a knave, + And of a knave a lord also; + + and Professor Hales recalls Burns's later line in the 'Cotter's + Saturday Night', 1785:-- + + Princes and lords are but the breath of kings. + + But Prior finds the exact equivalent of the second line in the + verses of an old French poet, De. Caux, upon an hour-glass:-- + + C'est un verre qui luit, + Qu'un souffle peut detruire, et qu'un souffle a produit. + +l. 57. ----- + "A time there was, ere England's griefs began". Here + wherever the locality of Auburn, the author had clearly England + in mind. A caustic commentator has observed that the 'time' + indicated must have been a long while ago. + +l. 67. ----- + "opulence". In the first edition the word is 'luxury.' + +l. 79. ----- + "And, many a year elapsed, return to view". 'It is + strongly contended at Lishoy, that "the Poet," as he is usually + called there, after his pedestrian tour upon the Continent of + Europe, returned to and resided in the village some time.... It + is moreover believed, that the havock which had been made in his + absence among those favourite scenes of his youth, affected his + mind so deeply, that he actually composed great part of the + Deserted Village 'at' Lishoy.' ('Poetical Works, with Remarks', + etc., by the Rev. R. H. Newell, 1811, p. 74.) + + Notwithstanding the above, there is no evidence that Goldsmith + ever returned to his native island. In a letter to his + brother-in-law, Daniel Hodson, written in 1758, he spoke of + hoping to do so 'in five or six years.' ('Percy Memoir', 1801, + i. 49). But in another letter, written towards the close of his + life, it is still a thing to come. 'I am again,' he says, 'just + setting out for Bath, and I honestly say I had much rather it + had been for Ireland with my nephew, but that pleasure I hope to + have before I die.' (Letter to Daniel Hodson, no date, in + possession of the late Frederick Locker Lampson.) + +l. 80. ----- + "Where once the cottage stood, the hawthorn grew". Here + followed, in the first edition:-- + + Here, as with doubtful, pensive steps I range, + Trace every scene, and wonder at the change, + Remembrance, etc. + +l. 84. "In all my griefs--and God has given my share". Prior + notes a slight similarity here to a line of Collins:-- + + Ye mute companions of my toils, that bear, + 'In all my griefs', a more than equal share! + 'Hassan; or, The Camel Driver'. + + In 'The Present State of Polite Learning', 1759, p. 143, + Goldsmith refers feelingly to 'the neglected author of the + Persian eclogues, which, however inaccurate, excel any in our + language.' He included four of them in 'The Beauties of English + Poesy', 1767, i. pp. 239-53. + +l. 87. ----- + "To husband out", etc. In the first edition this ran:-- + + My anxious day to husband near the close, + And keep life's flame from wasting by repose. + +l. 96. ----- + "Here to return--and die at home at last". Forster + compares a passage in 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. + 153:--'There is something so seducing in that spot in which we + first had existence, that nothing but it can please; whatever + vicissitudes we experience in life, however we toil, or + wheresoever we wander, our fatigued wishes still recur to home + for tranquillity, we long to die in that spot which gave us + birth, and in that pleasing expectation opiate every calamity.' + The poet Waller too--he adds--wished to die 'like the stag where + he was roused.' ('Life', 1871, ii. 202.) + +l. 99. ----- + "How happy he". 'How blest is he' in the first edition. + +l. 102. ----- + "And, since 'tis hard to combat, learns to fly". + Mitford compares 'The Bee' for October 13, 1759, p. 56:--'By + struggling with misfortunes, we are sure to receive some wounds + in the conflict. The only method to come off victorious, is by + running away.' + +l. 105. ----- + "surly porter". Mr. J. M. Lobban compares the 'Citizen + of the World', 1762, i. 123:--'I never see a nobleman's door + half opened that some surly porter or footman does not stand + full in the breach.' ('Select Poems of Goldsmith', 1900, p. 98.) + +l. 109. ----- + "Bends". 'Sinks' in the first edition. "unperceived + decay". Cf. Johnson, 'Vanity of Human Wishes', 1749, l. 292:-- + An age that melts with unperceiv'd decay, + And glides in modest innocence away; + + and 'Irene', Act ii, Sc. 7:-- + + And varied life steal unperceiv'd away. + +l. 110. ----- + "While Resignation", etc. In 1771 Sir Joshua exhibited + a picture of 'An Old Man,' studied from the beggar who was his + model for Ugolino. When it was engraved by Thomas Watson in + 1772, he called it 'Resignation,' and inscribed the print to + Goldsmith in the following words:--'This attempt to express a + Character in 'The Deserted Village', is dedicated to Dr. + Goldsmith, by his sincere Friend and admirer, JOSHUA REYNOLDS.' + +l. 114. ----- + "Up yonder hill". It has been suggested that Goldsmith + was here thinking of the little hill of Knockaruadh (Red Hill) + in front of Lissoy parsonage, of which there is a sketch in + Newell's 'Poetical Works', 1811. When Newell wrote, it was + already known as 'Goldsmith's mount'; and the poet himself + refers to it in a letter to his brother-in-law Hodson, dated + Dec. 27, 1757:--'I had rather be placed on the little mount + before Lishoy gate, and there take in, to me, the most pleasing + horizon in nature.' ('Percy Memoir', 1801, p. 43.) + +l. 124. ----- + "And fill'd each pause the nightingale had made". In + 'Animated Nature', 1774, v. 328, Goldsmith says:--'The + nightingale's pausing song would be the proper epithet for this + bird's music.' [Mitford.] + +l. 126. ----- + "No cheerful murmurs fluctuate in the gale". (Cf. + Goldsmith's Essay on 'Metaphors' ('British + Magazine'):--'Armstrong has used the word 'fluctuate' with + admirable efficacy, in his philosophical poem entitled 'The Art + of Preserving Health'. + + Oh! when the growling winds contend, and all + The sounding forest 'fluctuates' in the storm, + To sink in warm repose, and hear the din + Howl o'er the steady battlements. + +l. 136. ----- + "The sad historian of the pensive plain". Strean (see + note to l. 13) identified the old watercress gatherer as a + certain Catherine Giraghty (or Geraghty). Her children (he said) + were still living in the neighbourhood of Lissoy in 1807. + (Mangin's 'Essay on Light Reading', 1808, p. 142.) + +l. 140. ----- + "The village preacher's modest mansion rose". 'The + Rev. Charles Goldsmith is allowed by all that knew him, to have + been faithfully represented by his son in the character of the + Village Preacher.' So writes his daughter, Catharine Hodson + ('Percy Memoir', 1801, p. 3). Others, relying perhaps upon the + 'forty pounds a year' of the Dedication to 'The Traveller', make + the poet's brother Henry the original; others, again, incline to + kindly Uncle Contarine ('vide Introduction'). But as Prior + justly says ('Life', 1837, ii. 249), 'the fact perhaps is that + he fixed upon no one individual, but borrowing like all good + poets and painters a little from each, drew the character by + their combination.' + +l. 142. ----- + "with forty pounds a year". Cf. Dedication to 'The + Traveller', p. 3, l. 14. + +l. 145. ----- + "Unpractis'd". 'Unskilful' in the first edition. + +l. 148. ----- + "More skilled". 'More bent' in the first edition. + +l. 151. ----- + "The long remember'd beggar". 'The same persons,' says + Prior, commenting upon this passage, 'are seen for a series of + years to traverse the same tract of country at certain + intervals, intrude into every house which is not defended by the + usual outworks of wealth, a gate and a porter's lodge, exact + their portion of the food of the family, and even find an + occasional resting-place for the night, or from severe weather, + in the chimney-corner of respectable farmers.' ('Life', 1837, + ii. 269.) Cf. Scott on the Scottish mendicants in the + 'Advertisement' to 'The Antiquary', 1816, and Leland's 'Hist. of + Ireland', 1773, i. 35. + +l. 155. ----- + "The broken soldier". The disbanded soldier let loose + upon the country at the conclusion of the 'Seven Years' War' was + a familiar figure at this period. Bewick, in his 'Memoir' + ('Memorial Edition'), 1887, pp. 44-5, describes some of these + ancient campaigners with their battered old uniforms and their + endless stories of Minden and Quebec; and a picture of two of + them by T. S. Good of Berwick belonged to the late Mr. Locker + Lampson. Edie Ochiltree ('Antiquary')--it may be remembered--had + fought at Fontenoy. + +l. 170. ----- + "Allur'd to brighter worlds". Cf. Tickell on + Addison--'Saints who taught and led the way to Heaven.' + +l. 180. ----- + "And fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray". + Prior compares the opening lines of Dryden's 'Britannia + Rediviva':-- + + Our vows are heard betimes, and heaven takes care + To grant, before we can conclude the prayer; + Preventing angels met it half the way, + And sent us back to praise, who came to pray. + +l. 189. ----- + "As some tall cliff", etc. Lucan, Statius, and + Claudian have been supposed to have helped Goldsmith to this + fine and deservedly popular simile. But, considering his obvious + familiarity with French literature, and the rarity of his + 'obligations to the ancients,' it is not unlikely that, as + suggested by a writer in the 'Academy' for Oct. 30, 1886, his + source of suggestion is to be found in the following passage of + an Ode addressed by Chapelain (1595-1674) to Richelieu:-- + + Dans un paisible mouvement + Tu t'eleves au firmament, + Et laisses contre toi murmurer cette terre; + Ainsi le haut Olympe, a son pied sablonneux, + Laisse fumer la foudre et gronder le tonnerre, + Et garde son sommet tranquille et lumineux. + + Or another French model--indicated by Mr. Forster ('Life', 1871, + ii. 115-16) by the late Lord Lytton--may have been these lines + from a poem by the Abbe de Chaulieu (1639-1720):-- + + Au milieu cependant de ces peines cruelles + De notre triste hiver, compagnes trop fideles, + Je suis tranquille et gai. Quel bien plus precieux + Puis-je esperer jamais de la bonte des dieux! + Tel qu'un rocher dont la tete, + Egalant le Mont Athos, + Voit a ses pieds la tempete + Troubler le calme des flots, + La mer autour bruit et gronde; + Malgre ses emotions, + Sur son front eleve regne une paix profonde, + Que tant d'agitations + Et que ses fureurs de l'onde + Respectent a l'egal du nid des alcyons. + + On the other hand, Goldsmith may have gone no further than + Young's 'Complaint: Night the Second', 1742, p. 42, where, as + Mitford points out, occur these lines:-- + + As some tall Tow'r, or lofty Mountain's Brow, + Detains the Sun, Illustrious from its Height, + While rising Vapours, and descending Shades, + With Damps, and Darkness drown the Spatious Vale: + Undampt by Doubt, Undarken'd by Despair, + 'Philander', thus, augustly rears his Head. + + Prior also ('Life', 1837, ii. 252) prints a passage from + 'Animated Nature', 1774, i. 145, derived from Ulloa, which + perhaps served as the raw material of the simile. + +l. 201. ----- + "Full well they laugh'd", etc. Steele, in 'Spectator', + No. 49 (for April 26, 1711) has a somewhat similar + thought:--'"Eubulus" has so great an Authority in his little + Diurnal Audience, that when he shakes his Head at any Piece of + publick News, they all of them appear dejected; and, on the + contrary, go home to their Dinners with a good Stomach and + chearful Aspect, when "Eubulus" seems to intimate that Things go + well.' + +l. 205. ----- + "Yet he was kind", etc. For the rhyme of 'fault' and + 'aught' in this couplet Prior cites the precedent of Pope:-- + + Before his sacred name flies ev'ry fault, + And each exalted stanza teems with thought! + ('Essay on Criticism', l. 422). + + He might also have cited Waller, who elides the 'l':-- + + Were we but less indulgent to our fau'ts, + And patience had to cultivate our thoughts. + + Goldsmith uses a like rhyme in 'Edwin and Angelina', + Stanza xxxv:-- + + But mine the sorrow, mine the fault, + And well my life shall pay; + I'll seek the solitude he sought, + And stretch me where he lay. + + Cf. also 'Retaliation', ll. 73-4. Perhaps--as indeed Prior + suggests--he pronounced 'fault' in this fashion. + + +l. 216. ----- + "That one small head could carry all he knew". Some of + the traits of this portrait are said to be borrowed from + Goldsmith's own master at Lissoy:--'He was instructed in + reading, writing, and arithmetic'--says his sister Catherine, + Mrs. Hodson--'by a schoolmaster in his father's village, who had + been a quartermaster in the army in Queen Anne's wars, in that + detachment which was sent to Spain: having travelled over a + considerable part of Europe and being of a very romantic turn, + he used to entertain Oliver with his adventures; and the + impressions these made on his scholar were believed by the + family to have given him that wandering and unsettled turn which + so much appeared in his future life.' ('Percy Memoir', 1801, pp. + 3-4.) The name of this worthy, according to Strean, was Burn + (Byrne). (Mangin's 'Essay on Light Reading', 1808, p. 142.) + +l. 219. ----- + "Near yonder thorn". See note to l. 13. + +l. 229. ----- + "The chest contriv'd a double debt to pay". Cf. the + 'Description of an Author's Bedchamber', p. 48, l. ult. :-- + + A cap by night--a stocking all the day! + +l. 232. "The twelve good rules". 'A constant one' (i.e. + picture) 'in every house was "King Charles' Twelve Good Rules."' + (Bewick's 'Memoir', 'Memorial Edition,' 1887, p. 262.) This old + broadside, surmounted by a rude woodcut of the King's execution, + is still prized by collectors. The rules, as 'found in the study + of King Charles the First, of Blessed Memory,' are as + follow:-- + '1. Urge no healths; + 2. Profane no divine ordinances; + 3. Touch no state matters; + 4. Reveal no secrets; + 5. Pick no quarrels; + 6. Make no comparisons; + 7. Maintain no ill opinions; + 8. Keep no bad company; + 9. Encourage no vice; + 10. Make no long meals; + 11. Repeat no grievances; + 12. Lay no Wagers. + + Prior, 'Misc. Works', 1837, iv. 63, points out that Crabbe also + makes the 'Twelve Good Rules' conspicuous in the 'Parish + Register' (ll. 51-2):-- + + There is King Charles, and all his Golden Rules, + Who proved Misfortune's was the best of schools. + + Her late Majesty, Queen Victoria, kept a copy of these rules in + the servants' hall at Windsor Castle. + + "the royal game of goose". The 'Royal and Entertaining Game of + the Goose' is described at length in Strutt's 'Sports and + Pastimes', bk. iv, ch. 2 (xxv). It may be briefly defined as a + game of compartments with different titles through which the + player progresses according to the numbers he throws with the + dice. At every fourth or fifth compartment is depicted a goose, + and if the player's cast falls upon one of these, he moves + forward double the number of his throw. + +l. 235. ----- + "While broken tea-cups". Cf. the 'Description of an + Author's Bedchamber', p. 48, l. 18:-- + + And five crack'd teacups dress'd the chimney board. + + Mr. Hogan, who repaired or rebuilt the ale-house at Lissoy, did + not forget, besides restoring the 'Royal Game of Goose' and the + 'Twelve Good Rules,' to add the broken teacups, 'which for + better security in the frail tenure of an Irish publican, or the + doubtful decorum of his guests, were embedded in the mortar.' + (Prior, 'Life', 1837, ii. 265.) + +l. 250. ----- + "Shall kiss the cup.". Cf. Scott's 'Lochinvar':-- + + The bride kissed the goblet: the knight took it up, + He quaff'd off the wine and he threw down the cup. + + Cf. also 'The History of Miss Stanton' ('British Magazine', + July, 1760).--'The earthen mug went round. 'Miss touched the + cup', the stranger pledged the parson.' etc. + +l. 268. ----- + "Between a splendid and a happy land". Prior compares + 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, i. 98:--'Too much commerce may + injure a nation as well as too little; and...there is a wide + difference between a conquering and a flourishing empire.' + +l. 310. ----- + "To see profusion that he must not share". Cf. + 'Animated Nature', iv. p. 43:--'He only guards those luxuries he + is not fated to share.' [Mitford.] + +l. 313. ----- + "To see those joys". Up to the third edition the words + were 'each joy'. + +l. 318. ----- + "There the black gibbet glooms beside the way". The + gallows, under the savage penal laws of the eighteenth century, + by which horse-stealing, forgery, shop-lifting, and even the + cutting of a hop-bind in a plantation were punishable with + death, was a common object in the landscape. Cf. 'Vicar of + Wakefield', 1706, ii. 122:--'Our possessions are paled up with + new edicts every day, and hung round with gibbets to scare every + invader'; and 'Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 63-7. Johnson, + who wrote eloquently on capital punishment in 'The Rambler' for + April 20, 1751, No. 114, also refers to the ceaseless executions + in his 'London', 1738, ll. 238-43:-- + + Scarce can our fields, such crowds at Tyburn die, + With hemp the gallows and the fleet supply. + Propose your schemes, ye senatorian band, + Whose ways and means support the sinking land: + Lest ropes be wanting in the tempting spring, + To rig another convoy for the king. + +l. 326. ----- + "Where the poor houseless shivering female lies". + Mitford compares Letter cxiv of 'The Citizen of the World', + 1762, ii. 211:--'These 'poor shivering females' have once seen + happier days, and been flattered into beauty. They have been + prostituted to the gay luxurious villain, and are now turned out + to meet the severity of winter. Perhaps now lying at the doors + of their betrayers, they sue to wretches whose hearts are + insensible, or debauchees who may curse, but will not relieve + them.' The same passage occurs in 'The Bee', 1759, p. 126 ('A + City Night-Piece'). + +l. 332. ----- + "Near her betrayer's door", etc. Cf. the foregoing + quotation. + +l. 344. ----- + "wild Altama", i.e. the Alatamaha, a river in Georgia, + North America. Goldsmith may have been familiar with this name + in connexion with his friend Oglethorpe's expedition of 1733. + +l. 355. ----- + "crouching tigers", a poetical licence, as there are no + tigers in the locality named. But Mr. J. H. Lobban calls + attention to a passage from 'Animated Nature' [1774, iii. 244], + in which Goldsmith seems to defend himself:--'There is an animal + of America, which is usually called the Red Tiger, but Mr. + Buffon calls it the Cougar, which, no doubt, is very different + from the tiger of the east. Some, however, have thought proper + to rank both together, and I will take leave to follow their + example.' + +l. 371. ----- + "The good old sire". Cf. 'Threnodia Augustalis', ll. + 16-17:-- + + The good old sire, unconscious of decay, + The modest matron, clad in homespun gray + +l. 378. ----- + "a father's". 'Her father's' in the first edition. + +l. 384. ----- + "silent". 'Decent' in the first edition. + +l. 418. ----- + "On Torno's cliffs, or Pambamarca's side". 'Torno' = + Tornea, a river which falls into the Gulf of Bothnia; Pambamarca + is a mountain near Quito, South America. 'The author'--says + Bolton Corney--'bears in memory the operations of the French + philosophers in the arctic and equatorial regions, as described + in the celebrated narratives of M. Maupertuis and Don Antonio de + Ulloa.' + + ll. 427-30. "That trade's proud empire", etc. These last four + lines are attributed to Johnson on Boswell's authority:--'Dr. + Johnson...favoured me by marking the lines which he furnished to + Goldsmith's 'Deserted Village', which are only the 'last four'.' + (Birkbeck Hill's 'Boswell', 1887, ii. 7.) + + + + + + + +PROLOGUE OF LABERIUS. + +This translation, or rather imitation, was first published at pp. 176-7 +of 'An Enquiry into the Present State of Polite Learning in Europe', +1759 (Chap. xii, 'Of the Stage'), where it is prefaced as +follows:--'MACROBIUS has preserved a prologue, spoken and written by the +poet [Decimus] Laberius, a Roman knight, whom Caesar forced upon the +stage, written with great elegance and spirit, which shews what opinion +the Romans in general entertained of the profession of an actor.' In the +second edition of 1774 the prologue was omitted. The original lines, one +of which Goldsmith quotes, are to found in the 'Saturnalia' of +Macrobius, lib. ii, cap. vii ('Opera', London, 1694). He seems to have +confined himself to imitating the first fifteen:-- + + Necessitas, cujus cursus transversi impetum + Voluerunt multi effugere, pauci potuerunt, + Quo me detrusit paene extremis sensibus? + Quem nulla ambitio, nulla umquam largitio, + Nullus timor, vis nulla, nulla auctoritas + Movere potuit in juventa de statu; + Ecce in senecta ut facile labefecit loco + Viri Excellentis mente clemente edita + Submissa placide blandiloquens oratio! + Etenim ipsi di negare cui nihil potuerunt, + Hominem me denegare quis posset pati? + Ergo bis tricenis annis actis sine tota + Eques Romanus Lare egressus meo + Domum revertar mimus. nimirum hoc die + Uno plus vixi mihi quam vivendum fuit. + +Rollin gives a French translation of this prologue in his 'Traite des +Etudes'. It is quoted by Bolton Corney in his 'Poetical Works of Oliver +Goldsmith', 1845, pp. 203-4. In his Aldine edition of 1831, p. 114, +Mitford completed Goldsmith's version as follows:-- + + Too lavish still in good, or evil hour, + To show to man the empire of thy power, + If fortune, at thy wild impetuous sway, + The blossoms of my fame must drop away, + Then was the time the obedient plant to strain + When life was warm in every vigorous vein, + To mould young nature to thy plastic skill, + And bend my pliant boyhood to thy will. + So might I hope applauding crowds to hear, + Catch the quick smile, and HIS attentive ear. + But ah! for what has thou reserv'd my age? + Say, how can I expect the approving stage; + Fled is the bloom of youth -- the manly air -- + The vigorous mind that spurn'd at toil and care; + Gone is the voice, whose clear and silver tone + The enraptur'd theatre would love to own. + As clasping ivy chokes the encumber'd tree, + So age with foul embrace has ruined me. + Thou, and the tomb, Laberius, art the same, + Empty within, what hast thou but a name? + +Macrobius, it may be remembered, was the author, with a quotation from +whom Johnson, after a long silence, electrified the company upon his +first arrival at Pembroke College, thus giving (says Boswell) 'the first +impression of that more extensive reading in which he had indulged +himself' (Birkbeck Hill's 'Boswell', 1887, i. 59). If the study of +Macrobius is to be regarded as a test of 'more extensive reading' that +praise must therefore be accorded to Goldsmith, who cites him in his +first book. + + + + + +ON A BEAUTIFUL YOUTH STRUCK BLIND WITH LIGHTNING. + +This quatrain, the original of which does not appear to have been +traced, was first published in 'The Bee' for Saturday, the 6th of +October, 1759, p. 8. It is there succeeded by the following Latin +epigram, 'in the same spirit':-- + + LUMINE Acon dextro capta est Leonida sinistro + Et poterat forma vincere uterque Deos. + Parve puer lumen quod habes concede puellae + Sic tu caecus amor sic erit illa Venus. + +There are several variations of this in the 'Gentleman's Magazine' for +1745, pp. 104, 159, 213, 327, one of which is said to be 'By a monk of +Winchester,' with a reference to 'Cambden's 'Remains', p. 413.' None of +these corresponds exactly with Goldsmith's text; and the lady's name is +uniformly given as 'Leonilla.' A writer in the 'Quarterly Review', vol. +171, p. 296, prints the 'original' thus -- + + Lumine Acon dextro, capta est Leonilla sinistro, + Et potis est forma vincere uterque Deos. + Blande puer, lumen quod habes concede sorori; + Sic tu caecus Amor, sic erit illa Venus; + +and says 'it was written by Girolamo Amalteo, and will be found in any +of the editions of the 'Trium Fratrum Amaltheorum Carmina', under the +title of 'De gemellis, fratre et sorore, luscis.' According to Byron on +Bowles ('Works', 1836, vi. p. 390), the persons referred to are the +Princess of Eboli, mistress of Philip II of Spain, and Maugiron, minion +of Henry III of France, who had each of them lost an eye. But for this +the reviewer above quoted had found no authority. + + + + + +THE GIFT. + +This little trifle, in which a French levity is wedded to the language +of Prior, was first printed in 'The Bee', for Saturday, the 13th of +October, 1759. Its original, which is as follows, is to be found where +Goldsmith found it, namely in Part iii of the 'Menagiana', (ed. 1729, +iii, 397), and not far from the ditty of 'le fameux la Galisse'. (See +'An Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize', 'infra', p. 198):-- + + + + +ETRENE A IRIS. + + Pour temoigner de ma flame, + Iris, du meilleur de mon ame + Je vous donne a ce nouvel an + Non pas dentelle ni ruban, + Non pas essence, ni pommade, + Quelques boites de marmelade, + Un manchon, des gans, un bouquet, + Non pas heures, ni chapelet. + Quoi donc? Attendez, je vous donne + O fille plus belle que bonne... + Je vous donne: Ah! le puis-je dire? + Oui, c'est trop souffrir le martyre, + Il est tems de s'emanciper, + Patience va m'echaper, + Fussiez-vous cent fois plus aimable, + Belle Iris, je vous donne...au Diable. + +In Bolton Corney's edition of Goldsmith's 'Poetical Works', 1845, p. 77, +note, these lines are attributed to Bernard de la Monnoye (1641-1728), +who is said to have included them in a collection of 'Etrennes en vers', +published in 1715. + +l. 20. ----- + "I'll give thee". See an anecdote 'a propos' of this + anticlimax in Trevelyan's 'Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay', + ed. 1889, p. 600:--'There was much laughing about Mrs. Beecher + Stowe [then (16th March, 1853) expected in England], and what we + were to give her. I referred the ladies to Goldsmith's poems for + what I should give. Nobody but Hannah understood me; but some of + them have since been thumbing Goldsmith to make out the riddle.' + + + + + +THE LOGICIANS REFUTED. + +These lines, which have often, and even of late years, been included +among Swift's works, were first printed as Goldsmith's by T. Evans at +vol. i. pp. 115-17 of 'The Poetical and Dramatic Works of Oliver +Goldsmith, M. B., 1780. They originally appeared in 'The Busy Body' for +Thursday, October the 18th, 1759 (No. v), having this notification above +the title: 'The following Poem written by Dr. SWIFT, is communicated to +the Public by the BUSY BODY, to whom it was presented by a Nobleman of +distinguished Learning and Taste.' In No. ii they had already been +advertised as forthcoming. The sub-title, 'In imitation of Dean Swift,' +seems to have been added by Evans. The text here followed is that of the +first issue. + +l. 5. ----- + "Wise Aristotle and Smiglecius". Cf. 'The Life of + Parnell', 1770, p. 3:--'His imagination might have been too warm + to relish the cold logic of Burgersdicius, or the dreary + subtleties of 'Smiglesius'; but it is certain that as a + classical scholar, few could equal him.' Martin Smiglesius or + Smigletius, a Polish Jesuit, theologian and logician, who died + in 1618, appears to have been a special 'bete noire' to + Goldsmith; and the reference to him here would support the + ascription of the poem to Goldsmith's pen, were it not that + Swift seems also to have cherished a like antipathy:--'He told + me that he had made many efforts, upon his entering the College + [i.e. Trinity College, Dublin], to read some of the old + treatises on logic writ by 'Smeglesius', Keckermannus, + Burgersdicius, etc., and that he never had patience to go + through three pages of any of them, he was so disgusted at the + stupidity of the work.' (Sheridan's 'Life of Swift', 2nd ed., + 1787, p. 4.) + +l. 16. ----- + "Than reason-boasting mortal's pride". So in 'The Busy + Body'. Some editors--Mitford, for example--print the line:-- + + Than reason,--boasting mortals' pride. + +l. 18. ----- + "Deus est anima brutorum". Cf. Addison in 'Spectator', + No. 121 (July 19, 1711): 'A modern Philosopher, quoted by + Monsieur 'Bale' in his Learned Dissertation on the Souls of + Brutes delivers the same Opinion [i.e.--That Instinct is the + immediate direction of Providence], tho' in a bolder form of + words where he says 'Deus est Anima Brutorum', God himself is + the Soul of Brutes.' There is much in 'Monsieur Bayle' on this + theme. Probably Addison had in mind the following passage of the + 'Dict. Hist. et Critique' (3rd ed., 1720, 2481b.) which Bayle + cites from M. Bernard:--'Il me semble d'avoir lu quelque part + cette These, 'Deus est anima brutorum': l'expression est un peu + dure; mais elle peut recevoir un fort bon sens.' + +l. 32. ----- + "B-b"=Bob, i.e. Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister, + for whom many venal 'quills were drawn' 'circa' 1715-42. Cf. + Pope's 'Epilogue to the Satires', 1738, Dialogue i, ll. 27-32:-- + + Go see Sir ROBERT-- + P. See Sir ROBERT!--hum-- + And never laugh--for all my life to come? + Seen him I have, but in his happier hour + Of Social Pleasure, ill-exchang'd for Pow'r; + Seen him, uncumber'd with the Venal tribe, + Smile without Art, and win without a Bribe. + +l. 46. ----- + "A courtier any ape surpasses". Cf. Gay's 'Fables, + passim'. Indeed there is more of Gay than Swift in this and the + lines that follow. Gay's life was wasted in fruitless + expectations of court patronage, and his disappointment often + betrays itself in his writings. + +l. 56. ----- + "And footmen, lords and dukes can act". Cf. 'Gil Blas', + 1715-35, liv. iii, chap. iv:--'Il falloit voir comme nous nous + portions des santes a tous moments, en nous donnant les uns aux + autres les surnoms de nos maitres. Le valet de don Antonio + appeloit Gamboa celui de don Fernand, et le valet de don Fernand + appeloit Centelles celui de don Antonio. Ils me nommoient de + meme Silva; et nous nous enivrions peu a peu sous ces noms + empruntes, tout aussi bien que les seigneurs qui les portoient + veritablement.' But Steele had already touched this subject in + 'Spectator', No. 88, for June 11, 1711, 'On the Misbehaviour of + Servants,' a paper supposed to have afforded the hint for + Townley's farce of 'High Life below Stairs', which, about a + fortnight after 'The Logicians Refuted' appeared, was played for + the first time at Drury Lane, not much to the gratification of + the gentlemen's gentlemen in the upper gallery. Goldsmith + himself wrote 'A Word or two on the late Farce, called 'High + Life below Stairs',' in 'The Bee' for November 3, 1759, pp. + 154-7. + + + + + +A SONNET. + +This little piece first appears in 'The Bee' for October 20, +1759 (No. iii). It is there called 'A Sonnet,' a title which is +only accurate in so far as it is 'a little song.' Bolton Corney +affirms that it is imitated from the French of Saint-Pavin (i.e. +Denis Sanguin de Saint-Pavin, d. 1670), whose works were edited +in 1759, the year in which Goldsmith published the collection of +essays and verses in which it is to be found. The text here +followed is that of the 'new edition' of 'The Bee', published by +W. Lane, Leadenhall Street, no date, p. 94. Neither by its +motive nor its literary merits--it should be added--did the +original call urgently for translation; and the poem is here +included solely because, being Goldsmith's, it cannot be omitted +from his complete works. + +l. 5. ----- + This and the following line in the first version run:-- + Yet, why this killing soft dejection? + Why dim thy beauty with a tear? + + + + + +STANZAS ON THE TAKING OF QUEBEC. + +Quebec was taken on the 13th September, 1759. Wolfe was wounded pretty +early in the action, while leading the advance of the Louisbourg +grenadiers. 'A shot shattered his wrist. He wrapped his handkerchief +about it and kept on. Another shot struck him, and he still advanced, +when a third lodged in his breast. He staggered, and sat on the ground. +Lieutenant Brown, of the grenadiers, one Henderson, a volunteer in the +same company, and a private soldier, aided by an officer of artillery +who ran to join them, carried him in their arms to the rear. He begged +them to lay him down. They did so, and asked if he would have a surgeon. +"There's no need," he answered; "it's all over with me." A moment after, +one of them cried out, "They run; see how they run!" "Who run?" Wolfe +demanded, like a man roused from sleep. "The enemy, sir. They give way +everywhere!" "Go, one of you, to Colonel Burton," returned the dying +man; "tell him to march Webb's regiment down to Charles River, to cut +off their retreat from the bridge." Then, turning on his side, he +murmured, "Now, God be praised, I will die in peace!" and in a few +moments his gallant soul had fled.' (Parkman's 'Montcalm and Wolfe', +1885, ii. 296-7.) In his 'History of England in a Series of Letters', +1764, ii. 241, Goldsmith says of this event:--'Perhaps the loss of such +a man was greater to the nation than the conquering of all Canada was +advantageous; but it is the misfortune of humanity, that we can never +know true greatness till the moment when we are going to lose it*.' The +present stanzas were first published in 'The Busy Body' (No. vii) for +Tuesday, the 22nd October, 1759, a week after the news of Wolfe's death +had reached this country (Tuesday the 16th). According to Prior ('Life', +1837, i. 6), Goldsmith claimed to be related to Wolfe by the father's +side, the maiden name of the General's mother being Henrietta Goldsmith. +It may be noted that Benjamin West's popular rendering of Wolfe's death +(1771)--a rendering which Nelson never passed in a print shop without +being stopped by it--was said to be based upon the descriptions of an +eye-witness. It was engraved by Woollett and Ryland in 1776. A key to +the names of those appearing in the picture was published in the 'Army +and Navy Gazette' of January 20, 1893. + +*[footnote] He repeats this sentiment, in different words, in the later +'History of England' of 1771, iv. 400. + + + + + +AN ELEGY ON MRS. MARY BLAIZE. + +The publication in February, 1751, of Gray's 'Elegy Wrote in a Country +Church Yard' had set a fashion in poetry which long continued. +Goldsmith, who considered that work 'a very fine poem, but overloaded +with epithet' ('Beauties of English Poesy', 1767, i. 53), and once +proposed to amend it 'by leaving out an idle word in every line' [!] +(Cradock's 'Memoirs', 1826, i. 230), resented these endless imitations, +and his antipathy to them frequently reveals itself. Only a few months +before the appearance of Mrs. Blaize in 'The Bee' for October 27, 1759, +he had written in the 'Critical Review', vii. 263, when noticing +Langhorne's 'Death of Adonis', as follows:--'It is not thus that many of +our moderns have composed what they call elegies; they seem scarcely to +have known its real character. If an hero or a poet happens to die with +us, the whole band of elegiac poets raise the dismal chorus, adorn his +herse with all the paltry escutcheons of flattery, rise into bombast, +paint him at the head of his thundering legions, or reining Pegasus in +his most rapid career; they are sure to strew cypress enough upon the +bier, dress up all the muses in mourning, and look themselves every whit +as dismal and sorrowful as an undertaker's shop.' He returned to the +subject in a 'Chinese Letter' of March 4, 1761, in the 'Public Ledger' +(afterwards Letter ciii of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 162-5), +which contains the lines 'On the Death of the Right Honourable ***; and +again, in 'The Vicar of Wakefield', 1766, i. 174, 'a propos' of the +'Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog', he makes Dr. Primrose say, 'I have +wept so much at all sorts of elegies of late, that without an enlivening +glass I am sure this will overcome me.' + +The model for 'An Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize' is to be found in the old +French popular song of Monsieur de la Palisse or Palice, about fifty +verses of which are printed in Larousse's 'Grand Dictionnaire Universel +du XIXme Siecle', x. p. 179. It is there stated to have originated in +some dozen stanzas suggested to la Monnoye ('v. supra', p. 193) by the +extreme artlessness of a military quatrain dating from the battle of +Pavia, and the death upon that occasion of the famous French captain, +Jacques de Chabannes, seigneur de la Palice:-- + + Monsieur d'La Palice est mort, + Mort devant Pavie; + Un quart d'heure avant sa mort, + 'Il etait encore en vie'. + +The remaining verses, i.e. in addition to those of la Monnoye, are the +contributions of successive generations. Goldsmith probably had in mind +the version in Part iii of the 'Menagiana', (ed. 1729, iii, 384-391) +where apparently by a typographical error, the hero is called 'le fameux +la Galisse, homme imaginaire.' The verses he imitated most closely are +reproduced below. It may be added that this poem supplied one of its +last inspirations to the pencil of Randolph Caldecott, who published it +as a picture-book in October, 1885. (See also 'An Elegy on the Death of +a Mad Dog', p. 212.) + +l. 8. ----- + "Who left a pledge behind". Caldecott cleverly converted + this line into the keynote of the poem, by making the heroine a + pawnbroker. + +l. 20. ----- + "When she has walk'd before". Cf. the French:-- + + On dit que dans ses amours + Il fut caresse des belles, + Qui le suivirent toujours, + 'Tant qu'il marcha devant elles'. + +l. 24. ----- + "Her last disorder mortal". Cf. the French:-- + + Il fut par un triste sort + Blesse d'une main cruelle. + On croit, puis qu'il en est mort, + 'Que la plaie etoit mortelle'. + +l. 26. ----- + "Kent Street", Southwark, 'chiefly inhabited,' said + Strype, 'by Broom Men and Mumpers'; and Evelyn tells us ('Diary' + 5th December, 1683) that he assisted at the marriage, to her + fifth husband, of a Mrs. Castle, who was 'the daughter of one + Burton, a broom-man...in Kent Street' who had become not only + rich, but Sheriff of Surrey. It was a poor neighbourhood + corresponding to the present 'old Kent-road, from Kent to + Southwark and old London Bridge' (Cunningham's London*). + Goldsmith himself refers to it in 'The Bee' for October 20, + 1759, being the number immediately preceding that in which + 'Madam Blaize' first appeared:--'You then, O ye beggars of my + acquaintance, whether in rags or lace; whether in 'Kent-street' + or the Mall; whether at the Smyrna or St. Giles's, might I + advise as a friend, never seem in want of the favour which you + solicit' (p. 72). Three years earlier he had practised as 'a + physician, in a humble way' in Bankside, Southwark, and was + probably well acquainted with the humours of Kent Street. + + *[footnote] In contemporary maps Kent (now Tabard) Street is + shown extending between the present New Kent Road and Blackman + Street. + + + + + +DESCRIPTION OF AN AUTHOR'S BEDCHAMBER. + +In a letter written to the Rev. Henry Goldsmith in 1759 ('Percy Memoir', +1801, pp. 53-9), Goldsmith thus refers to the first form of these +verses:--'Your last letter, I repeat it, was too short; you should have +given me your opinion of the design of the heroicomical poem which I +sent you: you remember I intended to introduce the hero of the poem, as +lying in a paltry alehouse. You may take the following specimen of the +manner, which I flatter myself is quite original. The room in which he +lies, may be described somewhat this way:-- + + The window, patch'd with paper, lent a ray, + That feebly shew'd the state in which he lay. + The sanded floor, that grits beneath the tread: + The humid wall with paltry pictures spread; + The game of goose was there expos'd to view + And the twelve rules the royal martyr drew: + The seasons, fram'd with listing, found a place, + And Prussia's monarch shew'd his lamp-black face + The morn was cold; he views with keen desire, + A rusty grate unconscious of a fire. + An unpaid reck'ning on the frieze was scor'd, + And five crack'd tea-cups dress'd the chimney board. + +And now imagine after his soliloquy, the landlord to make his +appearance, in order to dun him for the reckoning:-- + + Not with that face, so servile and so gay, + That welcomes every stranger that can pay, + With sulky eye he smoak'd the patient man, + Then pull'd his breeches tight, and thus began, etc. + +All this is taken, you see, from nature. It is a good remark of +Montaign[e]'s, that the wisest men often have friends, with whom they do +not care how much they play the fool. Take my present follies as +instances of regard. Poetry is a much easier, and more agreeable species +of composition than prose, and could a man live by it, it were no +unpleasant employment to be a poet.' + +In Letter xxix of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, i. 119-22, which +first appeared in 'The Public Ledger' for May 2, 1760, they have a +different setting. They are read at a club of authors by a 'poet, in +shabby finery,' who asserts that he has composed them the day before. +After some preliminary difficulties, arising from the fact that the laws +of the club do not permit any author to inflict his own works upon the +assembly without a money payment, he introduces them as follows:-- + +'Gentlemen, says he, the present piece is not one of your common epic +poems, which come from the press like paper kites in summer; there are +none of your Turnuses or Dido's in it; it is an heroical description of +nature. I only beg you'll endeavour to make your souls unison* with +mine, and hear with the same enthusiasm with which I have written. The +poem begins with the description of an author's bedchamber: the picture +was sketched in my own apartment; for you must know, gentlemen, that I +am myself the heroe. Then putting himself into the attitude of an +orator, with all the emphasis of voice and action, he proceeded. + +Where the Red Lion, etc.' +The verses then follow as they are printed in this volume; but +he is unable to induce his audience to submit to a further sample. In a +slightly different form, some of them were afterwards worked into 'The +Deserted Village', 1770. (See ll. 227-36.) + +*[footnote] i.e. accord, conform. + +l. 3. ----- + "Where Calvert's butt, and Parsons' black champagne". The + Calverts and Humphrey Parsons were noted brewers of 'entire butt + beer' or porter, also known familiarly as 'British Burgundy' and + 'black Champagne.' Calvert's 'Best Butt Beer' figures on the + sign in Hogarth's 'Beer Street', 1751. + +l. 10. ----- + "The humid wall with paltry pictures spread". Bewick gives the + names of some of these popular, if paltry, decorations:--'In + cottages everywhere were to be seen the "Sailor's Farewell" and + his "Happy Return," "Youthful Sports," and the "Feats of + Manhood," "The Bold Archers Shooting at a Mark," "The Four + Seasons," etc.' ('Memoir', 'Memorial Edition,' 1887, p. 263.) + +l. 11. ----- + "The royal game of goose was there in view". (See note, p. 188, + l. 232) + +l. 12. ----- + "And the twelve rules the royal martyr drew". (See note, p. + 187, l. 232.) + +l. 13. ----- + "The Seasons, fram'd with listing". See note to l. 10 above, as + to 'The Seasons.' Listing, ribbon, braid, or tape is still used + as a primitive 'encadrement'. In a letter dated August 15, 1758, + to his cousin, Mrs. Lawder (Jane Contarine), Goldsmith again + refers to this device. Speaking of some 'maxims of frugality' + with which he intends to adorn his room, he adds--'my landlady's + daughter shall frame them with the parings of my black + waistcoat.' (Prior, 'Life', 1837, i. 271.) + +l. 14. ----- + "And brave Prince William". William Augustus, Duke of + Cumberland, 1721-65. The 'lamp-black face' would seem to imply + that the portrait was a silhouette. In the letter quoted on p. + 200 it is 'Prussia's monarch' (i.e. Frederick the Great). + +l. 17. ----- + "With beer and milk arrears". See the lines relative to the + landlord in Goldsmith's above-quoted letter to his brother. In + another letter of August 14, 1758, to Robert Bryanton, he + describes himself as 'in a garret writing for bread, and + expecting to be dunned for a milk score.' Hogarth's 'Distrest + Poet', 1736, it will be remembered, has already realized this + expectation. + +l. 20. ----- + "A cap by night--a stocking all the day". 'With this last + line,' says 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, i. 121, 'he [the + author] seemed so much elated, that he was unable to proceed: + "There gentlemen, cries he, there is a description for you; + Rab[e]lais's bed-chamber is but a fool to it: + + 'A cap by night--a stocking all the day!' + + There is sound and sense, and truth, and nature in the trifling + compass of ten little syllables."' (Letter xxix.) Cf. also 'The + Deserted Village', l. 230:-- + + A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day. + + If Goldsmith's lines did not belong to 1759, one might suppose + he had in mind the later 'Pauvre Diable' of his favourite + Voltaire. (See also APPENDIX B.) + + + + + +ON SEEING MRS. ** PERFORM IN THE CHARACTER OF ****. + +These verses, intended for a specimen of the newspaper Muse, are +from Letter lxxxii of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 87, +first printed in 'The Public Ledger', October 21, 1760. + + + + +ON THE DEATH OF THE RIGHT HON. *** + +From Letter ciii of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 164, +first printed in 'The Public Ledger', March 4, 1761. The verses +are given as a 'specimen of a poem on the decease of a great +man.' Goldsmith had already used the trick of the final line of +the quatrain in 'An Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize', ante, p. 198. + + + + +AN EPIGRAM. + +From Letter cx of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 193, +first printed in 'The Public Ledger', April 14, 1761. It had, +however, already been printed in the 'Ledger', ten days before. +Goldsmith's animosity to Churchill (cf. note to l. 41 of the +dedication to 'The Traveller') was notorious; but this is one of +his doubtful pieces. + +l. 3. ----- + "virtue". 'Charity' ('Author's note'). + +l. 4. ----- + "bounty". 'Settled at One Shilling--the Price of the Poem' + ('Author's note'). + + +TO G. C. AND R. L. + + From the same letter as the preceding. George Colman and Robert + Lloyd of the 'St. James's Magazine' were supposed to have helped + Churchill in 'The Rosciad', the 'it' of the epigram. + + + + +TRANSLATION OF A SOUTH AMERICAN ODE. + +From Letter cxiii of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 209, +first printed in 'The Public Ledger', May 13, 1761. + + + + +THE DOUBLE TRANSFORMATION. + +'The Double Transformation' first appeared in 'Essays: By Mr. +Goldsmith", 1765, where it figures as Essay xxvi, occupying pp. +229-33. It was revised for the second edition of 1766, becoming +Essay xxviii, pp. 241-45. This is the text here followed. The +poem is an obvious imitation of what its author calls ('Letters +from a Nobleman to his Son', 1764, ii. 140) that 'French elegant +easy manner of telling a story,' which Prior had caught from La +Fontaine. But the inherent simplicity of Goldsmith's style is +curiously evidenced by the absence of those illustrations and +ingenious allusions which are Prior's chief characteristic. And +although Goldsmith included 'The Ladle' and 'Hans Carvel' in his +'Beauties of English Poesy', 1767, he refrained wisely from +copying the licence of his model. + +l. 2. ----- + "Jack Book-worm led a college life". + The version of 1765 reads 'liv'd' for 'led.' + +l. 6. ----- + "And freshmen wonder'd as he spoke". + The earlier version adds here-- + + Without politeness aim'd at breeding, + And laugh'd at pedantry and reading. + +l. 18. ----- + "Her presence banish'd all his peace". + + Here in the first version the paragraph closes, + and a fresh one is commenced as follows:-- + + Our alter'd Parson now began + To be a perfect ladies' man; + Made sonnets, lisp'd his sermons o'er, + And told the tales he told before, + Of bailiffs pump'd, and proctors bit, + At college how he shew'd his wit; + And, as the fair one still approv'd, + He fell in love--or thought he lov'd. + So with decorum, etc. + + The fifth line was probably a reminiscence of the college riot + in which Goldsmith was involved in May, 1747, and for his part + in which he was publicly admonished. (See 'Introduction', p. xi, + l. 3.) + +l. 27. ----- + "usage". This word, perhaps by a printer's error, is + 'visage' in the first version + +l. 39. ----- + "Skill'd in no other arts was she". Cf. Prior:-- + + For in all Visits who but She, + To Argue, or to Repartee. + +l. 46. ----- + "Five greasy nightcaps wrapp'd her head". Cf. + 'Spectator', No. 494--'At length the Head of the + Colledge came out to him, from an inner Room, with half + a Dozen Night-Caps upon his Head.' See also Goldsmith's + essay on the Coronation ('Essays', 1766, p. 238), where + Mr. Grogan speaks of his wife as habitually 'mobbed up + in flannel night caps, and trembling at a breath of + air.' + +l. 52. ----- + "By day, 'twas gadding or coquetting". The first version after + 'coquetting' begins a fresh paragraph with-- + + Now tawdry madam kept, etc. + +l. 58. ----- + "A sigh in suffocating smoke". + Here in the first version follows:-- + + She, in her turn, became perplexing, + And found substantial bliss in vexing. + Thus every hour was pass'd, etc. + +l. 61. ----- + "Thus as her faults each day were known". First version: + + 'Each day, the more her faults,' etc. + +l. 71. ----- + "Now, to perplex". The first version has 'Thus.' + But the alteration in line 61 made a change necessary. + +l. 85. ----- + "paste". First version 'pastes.' + +l. 91. ----- + "condemn'd to hack", i.e. to hackney, to plod. + + + + + +A NEW SIMILE. + +The 'New Simile' first appears in 'Essays: By Mr. Goldsmith, 1765, pp. +234-6, where it forms Essay xxvii. In the second edition of 1766 it +occupies pp. 246-8 and forms Essay xix. The text here followed is that +of the second edition, which varies slightly from the first. In both +cases the poem is followed by the enigmatical initials '*J. B.,' which, +however, as suggested by Gibbs, may simply stand for 'Jack Bookworm' of +'The Double Transformation'. (See p. 204.) + +l. 1. ----- + "Long had I sought in vain to find". The text of 1765 + reads-- + + 'I long had rack'd my brains to find.' + +l. 6. ----- + "Tooke's Pantheon". Andrew Tooke (1673-1732) was first + usher and then Master at the Charterhouse. In the latter + capacity he succeeded Thomas Walker, the master of Addison and + Steele. His 'Pantheon', a revised translation from the Latin of + the Jesuit, Francis Pomey, was a popular school-book of + mythology, with copper-plates. + +l. 16. ----- + "Wings upon either side--mark that". The petasus of + Mercury, like his sandals (l. 24), is winged. + +l. 36. ----- + "No poppy-water half so good". Poppy-water, made by + boiling the heads of the white, black, or red poppy, was a + favourite eighteenth-century soporific:--'Juno shall give her + peacock 'poppy-water', that he may fold his ogling tail.' + (Congreve's 'Love for Love', 1695, iv. 3.) + +l. 42. ----- + "With this he drives men's souls to hell". + Tu.... + ....virgaque levem coerces + Aurea turbam.--Hor. 'Od'. i. 10. + +l. 57. "Moreover, Merc'ry had a failing". + Te canam.... + Callidum, quidquid placuit, iocoso + Condere furto.--Hor. 'Od'. i. 10. + + Goldsmith, it will be observed, rhymes 'failing' and 'stealing.' + But Pope does much the same:-- + + That Jelly's rich, this Malmsey healing, + Pray dip your Whiskers and your tail in. + ('Imitation of Horace', Bk. ii, Sat. vi.) + + Unless this is to be explained by poetical licence, one of these + words must have been pronounced in the eighteenth century as it + is not pronounced now. + +l. 59. ----- + "In which all modern bards agree". + The text of 1765 reads 'our scribling bards.' + + + + + + + +EDWIN AND ANGELINA. + +This ballad, usually known as 'The Hermit', was written in or before +1765, and printed privately in that year 'for the amusement of the +Countess of Northumberland,' whose acquaintance Goldsmith had recently +made through Mr. Nugent. (See the prefatory note to 'The Haunch of +Venison'.) Its title was "'Edwin and Angelina. A Ballad'. By Mr. +Goldsmith." It was first published in 'The Vicar of Wakefield', 1766, +where it appears at pp. 70-7, vol. i. In July, 1767, Goldsmith was +accused [by Dr. Kenrick] in the 'St. James's Chronicle' of having taken +it from Percy's 'Friar of Orders Gray'. Thereupon he addressed a letter +to the paper, of which the following is the material portion:-- +'Another Correspondent of yours accuses me of having taken a Ballad, I +published some Time ago, from one by the ingenious Mr. Percy. I do not +think there is any great Resemblance between the two Pieces in Question. +If there be any, his Ballad is taken from mine. I read it to Mr. Percy +some Years ago, and he (as we both considered these Things as Trifles at +best) told me, with his usual Good Humour, the next Time I saw him, that +he had taken my Plan to form the fragments of Shakespeare into a Ballad +of his own. He then read me his little Cento, if I may so call it, and I +highly approved it. Such petty Anecdotes as these are scarce worth +printing, and were it not for the busy Disposition of some of your +Correspondents, the Publick should never have known that he owes me the +Hint of his Ballad, or that I am obliged to his Friendship and Learning +for Communications of a much more important Nature. -- I am, Sir, your's +etc. OLIVER GOLDSMITH.' ('St. James's Chronicle', July 23-5, 1767.) No +contradiction of this statement appears to have been offered by Percy; +but in re-editing his 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry' in 1775, +shortly after Goldsmith's death, he affixed this note to 'The Friar of +Orders Gray:-- 'As the foregoing song has been thought to have +suggested to our late excellent poet, Dr. Goldsmith, the plan of his +beautiful ballad of 'Edwin and Emma [Angelina]', first printed +[published?] in his 'Vicar of Wakefield', it is but justice to his +memory to declare, that his poem was written first, and that if there is +any imitation in the case, they will be found both to be indebted to the +beautiful old ballad, 'Gentle Herdsman, etc.', printed in the second +volume of this work, which the doctor had much admired in manuscript, +and has finely improved' (vol. i. p. 250). The same story is told, in +slightly different terms, at pp. 74-5 of the 'Memoir' of Goldsmith drawn +up under Percy's superintendence for the 'Miscellaneous Works' of 1801, +and a few stanzas of 'Gentle Herdsman', which Goldsmith is supposed to +have had specially in mind, are there reproduced. References to them +will be found in the ensuing notes. The text here adopted (with +exception of ll. 117-20) is that of the fifth edition of 'The Vicar of +Wakefield', 1773[4], i. pp. 78-85; but the variations of the earlier +version of 1765 are duly chronicled, together with certain hitherto +neglected differences between the first and later editions of the novel. +The poem was also printed in the 'Poems for Young Ladies', 1767, pp. +91-8*. The author himself, it may be added, thought highly of it. 'As to +my "Hermit," that poem,' he is reported to have said, 'cannot be +amended.' (Cradock's 'Memoirs', 1828, iv. 286.) + +[footnote] *This version differs considerably from the others, often +following that of 1765; but it has not been considered necessary to +record the variations here. That Goldsmith unceasingly revised the piece +is sufficiently established. + +l. 1. ----- + "Turn, etc." The first version has -- + + Deign saint-like tenant of the dale, + To guide my nightly way, + To yonder fire, that cheers the vale + With hospitable ray. + +l. 11. ----- + "For yonder faithless phantom flies". + 'The Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, has -- + + 'For yonder phantom only flies.' + +l. 30. ----- + "All". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, 'For.' + +l. 31. ----- + "Man wants but little here below". Cf. Young's 'Complaint', + 1743, 'Night' iv. 9, of which this and the next line are a + recollection. According to Prior ('Life', 1837, ii. 83), they + were printed as a quotation in the version of 1765. Young's line + is-- + + Man wants but Little; nor that Little, long. + +l. 35. ----- + "modest". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, 'grateful.' + +l. 37. ----- + "Far in a wilderness obscure". First version, and 'Vicar of + Wakefield', first edition:-- + + Far shelter'd in a glade obscure + The modest mansion lay. + +l. 43. ----- + "The wicket, opening with a latch". First version, and 'Vicar + of Wakefield', first edition:-- + + The door just opening with a latch. + +l. 45. ----- + "And now, when busy crowds retire". First version, and 'Vicar + of Wakefield', first edition:-- + + And now, when worldly crowds retire + To revels or to rest. + +l. 57. ----- + "But nothing, etc." In the first version this stanza runs as + follows:-- + + But nothing mirthful could assuage + The pensive stranger's woe; + For grief had seized his early age, + And tears would often flow. + +l. 78. ----- + "modern". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, reads 'haughty.' + +l. 84. ----- + "His love-lorn guest betray'd". First version, and 'Vicar of + Wakefield', first edition:-- + + The bashful guest betray'd. + +l. 85. ----- + "Surpris'd, he sees, etc." First version, and 'Vicar of + Wakefield', first edition:-- + + He sees unnumber'd beauties rise, + Expanding to the view; + Like clouds that deck the morning skies, + As bright, as transient too. + +l. 89. ----- + "The bashful look, the rising breast". First version, + and 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition:-- + + Her looks, her lips, her panting breast. + +l. 97. ----- + "But let a maid, etc." For this, and the next two stanzas, + the first version substitutes:-- + + Forgive, and let thy pious care + A heart's distress allay; + That seeks repose, but finds despair + Companion of the way. + My father liv'd, of high degree, + Remote beside the Tyne; + And as he had but only me, + Whate'er he had was mine. + To win me from his tender arms, + Unnumber'd suitors came; + Their chief pretence my flatter'd charms, + My wealth perhaps their aim. + +l. 109. ----- + "a mercenary crowd". 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, has:-- + + 'the gay phantastic crowd.' + +l. 111. ----- + "Amongst the rest young Edwin bow'd". First version:-- + + Among the rest young Edwin bow'd, + Who offer'd only love. + +l. 115. ----- + "Wisdom and worth, etc." First version, and 'Vicar of + Wakefield', first edition:-- + + A constant heart was all he had, + But that was all to me. + +l. 117. ----- + "And when beside me, etc." For this 'additional stanza,' says + the 'Percy Memoir', p. 76, 'the reader is indebted to Richard + Archdal, Esq., late a member of the Irish Parliament, to whom it + was presented by the author himself.' It was first printed in + the 'Miscellaneous Works', 1801, ii. 25. In Prior's edition of + the 'Miscellaneous Works', 1837, iv. 41, it is said to have been + 'written some years after the rest of the poem.' + +l. 121. ----- + "The blossom opening to the day, etc." For this and the next + two stanzas the first version substitutes:-- + + Whene'er he spoke amidst the train, + How would my heart attend! + And till delighted even to pain, + How sigh for such a friend! + And when a little rest I sought + In Sleep's refreshing arms, + How have I mended what he taught, + And lent him fancied charms! + Yet still (and woe betide the hour!) + I spurn'd him from my side, + And still with ill-dissembled power + Repaid his love with pride. + +l. 129. ----- + "For still I tried each fickle art, etc." Percy finds the + prototype of this in the following stanza of 'Gentle Herdsman':-- + + And grew soe coy and nice to please, + As women's lookes are often soe, + He might not kisse, nor hand forsoothe, + Unlesse I willed him soe to doe. + +l. 133. ----- + "Till quite dejected with my scorn, etc." The first edition + reads this stanza and the first two lines of the next thus:-- + + Till quite dejected by my scorn, + He left me to deplore; + And sought a solitude forlorn, + And ne'er was heard of more. + Then since he perish'd by my fault, + This pilgrimage I pay, etc. + +l. 135. ----- + "And sought a solitude forlorn". Cf. 'Gentle Herdsman:-- + + He gott him to a secrett place, + And there he dyed without releeffe. + +l. 141. ----- + "And there forlorn, despairing, hid, etc." The first edition + for this and the next two stanzas substitutes the following:-- + + And there in shelt'ring thickets hid, + I'll linger till I die; + 'Twas thus for me my lover did, + And so for him will I. + + 'Thou shalt not thus,' the Hermit cried, + And clasp'd her to his breast; + The astonish'd fair one turned to chide, -- + 'Twas Edwin's self that prest. + + For now no longer could he hide, + What first to hide he strove; + His looks resume their youthful pride, + And flush with honest love. + +l. 143. ----- + "'Twas so for me, etc." Cf. 'Gentle Herdsman':-- + + Thus every day I fast and pray, + And ever will doe till I dye; + And gett me to some secret place, + For soe did hee, and soe will I. + +l. 145. ----- + "Forbid it, Heaven." 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, + like the version of 1765, has 'Thou shalt not thus.' + +l. 156. ----- + "My life." 'Vicar of Wakefield', first edition, has 'O thou.' + +l. 157. ----- + "No, never from this hour, etc." The first edition reads:-- + + No, never, from this hour to part, + Our love shall still be new; + And the last sigh that rends thy heart, + Shall break thy Edwin's too. + + The poem then concluded thus:-- + Here amidst sylvan bowers we'll rove, + From lawn to woodland stray; + Blest as the songsters of the grove, + And innocent as they. + + To all that want, and all that wail, + Our pity shall be given, + And when this life of love shall fail, + We'll love again in heaven. + + These couplets, with certain alterations in the first and last + lines, are to be found in the version printed in 'Poems for + Young Ladies', 1767, p. 98. + + + + + + + +AN ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF A MAD DOG. + +This poem was first published in 'The Vicar of Wakefield', 1766, i. +175-6, where it is sung by one of the little boys. In common with the +'Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize' (p. 47) it owes something of its origin to +Goldsmith's antipathy to fashionable elegiacs, something also to the +story of M. de la Palisse. As regards mad dogs, its author seems to have +been more reasonable than many of his contemporaries, since he +ridiculed, with much common sense, their exaggerated fears on this +subject ('v. Chinese Letter' in 'The Public Ledger' for August 29, 1760, +afterwards Letter lxvi of 'The Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 15). But +it is ill jesting with hydrophobia. Like 'Madam Blaize', these verses +have been illustrated by Randolph Caldecott. + +l. 5. ----- + "In Islington there was a man". Goldsmith had lodgings at Mrs. + Elizabeth Fleming's in Islington (or 'Isling town' as the + earlier editions have it) in 1763-4; and the choice of the + locality may have been determined by this circumstance. But the + date of the composition of the poem is involved in the general + obscurity which hangs over the 'Vicar' in its unprinted state. + (See 'Introduction', pp. xviii-xix.) + +l. 19. ----- + "The dog, to gain some private ends". The first edition reads + 'his private ends.' + +l. 32. ----- + "The dog it was that died". This catastrophe suggests the + couplet from the 'Greek Anthology', + ed. Jacobs, 1813-7, ii. 387:-- + + Kappadoken pot exidna kake daken alla kai aute + katthane, geusamene aimatos iobolou. + + Goldsmith, however, probably went no farther back + than Voltaire on Freron:-- + + L'autre jour, au fond d'un vallon, + Un serpent mordit Jean Freron. + Devinez ce qu'il arriva? + Ce fut le serpent qui creva. + +This again, according to M. Edouard Fournier ('L'Esprit des Autres', +sixth edition, 1881, p. 288), is simply the readjustment of an earlier +quatrain, based upon a Latin distich in the 'Epigrammatum delectus', +1659:-- + + Un gros serpent mordit Aurelle. + Que croyez-vous qu'il arriva? + Qu'Aurelle en mourut? -- Bagatelle! + Ce fut le serpent qui creva. + + + + +SONG + +FROM 'THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD.' + +First published in 'The Vicar of Wakefield', 1766, ii. 78 (chap. v). It +is there sung by Olivia Primrose, after her return home with her father. +'Do, my pretty Olivia,' says Mrs. Primrose, let us have that little +melancholy air your pappa was so fond of, your sister Sophy has already +obliged us. Do child, it will please your old father.' 'She complied in +a manner so exquisitely pathetic,' continues Dr. Primrose, 'as moved +me.' The charm of the words, and the graceful way in which they are +introduced, seem to have blinded criticism to the impropriety, and even +inhumanity, of requiring poor Olivia to sing a song so completely +applicable to her own case. No source has been named for this piece; and +its perfect conformity with the text would appear to indicate that +Goldsmith was not indebted to any earlier writer for his idea. + +His well-known obligations to French sources seem, however, to have +suggested that, if a French original could not be discovered for the +foregoing lyric, it might be desirable to invent one. A clever +paragraphist in the 'St. James's Gazette' for January 28th, 1889, +accordingly reproduced the following stanzas, which he alleged, were to +be found in the poems of Segur, 'printed in Paris in 1719':-- + + Lorsqu'une femme, apres trop de tendresse, + D'un homme sent la trahison, + Comment, pour cette si douce foiblesse + Peut-elle trouver une guerison? + + Le seul remede qu'elle peut ressentir, + La seul revanche pour son tort, + Pour faire trop tard l'amant repentir, + Helas! trop tard -- est la mort. + +As a correspondent was not slow to point out, Goldsmith, if a copyist, +at all events considerably improved his model (see in particular lines 7 +and 8 of the French). On the 30th of the month the late Sir William +Fraser gave it as his opinion, that, until the volume of 1719 should be +produced, the 'very inferior verses quoted' must be classed with the +fabrications of 'Father Prout,' and he instanced that very version of +the 'Burial of Sir John Moore' ('Les Funerailles de Beaumanoir') which +has recently (August 1906) been going the round of the papers once +again. No Segur volume of 1719 was, of course, forthcoming. + +Kenrick, as we have already seen, had in 1767 accused Goldsmith of +taking 'Edwin and Angelina' from Percy (p. 206). Thirty years later, the +charge of plagiarism was revived in a different way when 'Raimond and +Angeline', a French translation of the same poem, appeared, as +Goldsmith's original, in a collection of Essays called 'The Quiz', 1797. +It was eventually discovered to be a translation 'from' Goldsmith by a +French poet named Leonard, who had included it in a volume dated 1792, +entitled 'Lettres de deux Amans, Habitans de Lyon' (Prior's 'Life', +1837, ii. 89-94). It may be added that, according to the 'Biographie +Universelle', 1847, vol. 18 (Art. 'Goldsmith'), there were then no fewer +than at least three French imitations of 'The Hermit' besides Leonard's. + + + + + + +EPILOGUE TO 'THE GOOD NATUR'D MAN.' + +Goldsmith's comedy of 'The Good Natur'd Man' was produced by Colman, at +Covent Garden, on Friday, January 29, 1768. The following note was +appended to the Epilogue when printed:-- 'The Author, in expectation of +an Epilogue from a friend at Oxford, deferred writing one himself till +the very last hour. What is here offered, owes all its success to the +graceful manner of the Actress who spoke it.' It was spoken by Mrs. +Bulkley, the 'Miss Richland' of the piece. In its first form it is to be +found in 'The Public Advertiser' for February 3. Two days later the play +was published, with the version here followed. + +l. 1. ----- + "As puffing quacks". Goldsmith had devoted a Chinese + letter to this subject. See 'Citizen of the World', 1762, ii. 10 + (Letter lxv). + +l. 17. ----- + "No, no: I've other contests, etc." This couplet is + not in the first version. The old building of the College of + Physicians was in Warwick Lane; and the reference is to the + long-pending dispute, occasionally enlivened by personal + collision, between the Fellows and Licentiates respecting the + exclusion of certain of the latter from Fellowships. On this + theme Bonnell Thornton, himself an M.B. like Goldsmith, wrote a + satiric additional canto to Garth's 'Dispensary', entitled 'The + Battle of the Wigs', long extracts from which are printed in + 'The Gentleman's Magazine' for March, 1768, p. 132. The same + number also reviews 'The Siege of the Castle of Aesculapius, an + heroic Comedy, as it is acted in Warwick-Lane'. Goldsmith's + couplet is, however, best illustrated by the title of one of + Sayer's caricatures, 'The March of the Medical Militants to the + Siege of Warwick-Lane-Castle in the Year' 1767. The quarrel was + finally settled in favour of the college in June, 1771. + +l. 19. ----- + "Go, ask your manager". Colman, the manager of Covent + Garden, was not a prolific, although he was a happy writer of + prologues and epilogues. + +l. 32. ----- + The quotation is from 'King Lear', Act iii, Sc. 4. + +l. 34. ----- + In the first version the last line runs:-- + + And view with favour, the 'Good-natur'd Man.' + + + + + + + +EPILOGUE TO 'THE SISTER.' + +'The Sister', produced at Covent Garden February 18, 1769, was a comedy +by Mrs. Charlotte Lenox or Lennox, 'an ingenious lady,' says 'The +Gentleman's Magazine' for April in the same year, 'well known in the +literary world by her excellent writings, particularly the Female +Quixote, and Shakespeare illustrated.... The audience expressed their +disapprobation of it with so much clamour and appearance of prejudice, +that she would not suffer an attempt to exhibit it a second time (p. +199).' According to the same authority it was based upon one of the +writer's own novels, 'Henrietta', published in 1758. Though tainted with +the prevailing sentimentalism, 'The Sister' is described by Forster as +'both amusing and interesting'; and it is probable that it was not +fairly treated when it was acted. Mrs. Lenox (1720-1804), daughter of +Colonel Ramsay, Lieut.-Governor of New York, was a favourite with the +literary magnates of her day. Johnson was half suspected of having +helped her in her book on Shakespeare; Richardson admitted her to his +readings at Parson's Green; Fielding, who knew her, calls her, in the +'Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon', 1755, p. 35 (first version), 'the +inimitable author of the Female Quixote'; and Goldsmith, though he had +no kindness for genteel comedy (see 'post', p. 228), wrote her this +lively epilogue, which was spoken by Mrs. Bulkley, who personated the +'Miss Autumn' of the piece. Mrs. Lenox died in extremely reduced +circumstances, and was buried by the Right Hon. George Ross, who had +befriended her later years. There are several references to her in +Boswell's 'Life of Johnson'. (See also Hawkins' 'Life', 2nd ed. 1787, +pp. 285-7.) + + + + + + + +PROLOGUE TO 'ZOBEIDE.' + +'Zobeide', a play by Joseph Cradock (1742-1826), of Gumley, in +Leicestershire, was produced by Colman at Covent Garden on Dec. 11, +1771. It was a translation from three acts of 'Les Scythes', an +unfinished tragedy by Voltaire. Goldsmith was applied to, through the +Yates's, for a prologue, and sent that here printed to the author of the +play with the following note:-- 'Mr. Goldsmith presents his best +respects to Mr. Cradock, has sent him the Prologue, such as it is. He +cannot take time to make it better. He begs he will give Mr. Yates the +proper instructions; and so, even so, commits him to fortune and the +publick.' (Cradock's 'Memoirs', 1826, i. 224.) Yates, to the acting of +whose wife in the character of the heroine the success of the piece, +which ran for thirteen nights, was mainly attributable, was to have +spoken the prologue, but it ultimately fell to Quick, later the 'Tony +Lumpkin' of 'She Stoops to Conquer', who delivered it in the character +of a sailor. Cradock seems subsequently to have sent a copy of 'Zobeide' +to Voltaire, who replied in English as follows:-- + + 9e. 8bre. 1773. a ferney. + Sr. + Thanks to yr muse a foreign copper shines + Turn'd in to gold, and coin'd in sterling lines. + You have done to much honour to an old sick man of eighty. + I am with the most sincere esteem and gratitude + Sr. + Yr. obdt. Servt. Voltaire. + A Monsieur Monsieur J. Cradock. + +The text of the prologue is here given as printed in Cradock's +'Memoirs', 1828, iii. 8-9. It is unnecessary to specify the variations +between this and the earlier issue of 1771. + +l. 1. ----- + "In these bold times, etc." The reference is to Cook, + who, on June 12, 1771, had returned to England in the + 'Endeavour', after three years' absence, having gone to Otaheite + to observe the transit of Venus (l. 4). + +l. 5. ----- + "Botanists". Mr. (afterward Sir Joseph) Banks and Dr. + Solander, of the British Museum, accompanied Cook. + +l. 6. ----- + "go simpling", i.e. gathering simples, or herbs. Cf. + 'Merry Wives of Windsor', Act iii, Sc. 3:-- + '-- These lisping hawthorn buds that... + smell like Bucklersbury in 'simple'-time.' + In the caricatures of the day Solander figured as 'The + 'simpling' Macaroni.' (See note, p. 247, l. 31.) + +l. 11. ----- + "With Scythian stores". The scene of the play was laid + in Scythia ('v. supra'). + +l. 28. ----- + "to make palaver", to hold a parley, generally with the + intention of cajoling. Two of Goldsmith's notes to Garrick in + 1773 are endorsed by the actor -- 'Goldsmith's parlaver.' + (Forster's 'Life', 1871, ii. 397.) + +l. 32. ----- + "mercenary". Cradock gave the profits of 'Zobeide' to + Mrs. Yates. 'I mentioned the disappointment it would be to you' + -- she says in a letter to him dated April 26, 1771 --' as you + had generously given the emoluments of the piece to me.' + ('Memoirs', 1828, iv. 211.) + + + + + + +THRENODIA AUGUSTALIS. + +Augusta, widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and mother of George the +Third, died at Carlton House, February 8, 1772. This piece was spoken +and sung in Mrs. Teresa Cornelys's Great Room in Soho Square, on the +Thursday following (the 20th), being sold at the door as a small quarto +pamphlet, printed by William Woodfall. The author's name was not given; +but it was prefaced by this 'advertisement,' etc.:-- + +'The following may more properly be termed a compilation than a poem. +It was prepared for the composer in little more than two days: and may +be considered therefore rather as an industrious effort of gratitude +than of genius. In justice to the composer it may likewise be right to +inform the public, that the music was adapted in a period of time +equally short. + +SPEAKERS. + +'Mr. Lee and Mrs. Bellamy'. + +SINGERS. + +'Mr. Champnes, Mr. Dine, and Miss Jameson; with twelve chorus singers. +The music prepared and adapted by Signor Vento.' + +It is -- as Cunningham calls it -- a 'hurried and unworthy off-spring of +the muse of Goldsmith.' + +(Part I). + +l. 122 "----- + Celestial-like her bounty fell". The + Princess's benefactions are not exaggerated. 'She had paid off + the whole of her husband's debts, and she had given munificent + sums in charity. More than 10,000'l.' a year were given away by + her in pensions to individuals whom she judged deserving, very + few of whom were aware, until her death, whence the bounty came. + The whole of her income she spent in England, and very little on + herself' ('Augusta: Princess of Wales', by W. H. Wilkins, + 'Nineteenth Century', October, 1903, p. 675). + +l. 132. ----- + "There faith shall come". This, and the three lines + that follow, are borrowed from Collins's 'Ode written in the + beginning of the year' 1746. + +(Part II). + +l. 22 "----- + The towers of Kew". 'The embellishments of + Kew palace and gardens, under the direction of [Sir William] + Chambers, and others, was the favourite object of her [Royal + Highness's] widowhood' (Bolton Corney). + +l. 77. ----- + "Along the billow'd main". Cf. 'The Captivity', Act ii, + I. 18. + +l. 83. ----- + "Oswego's dreary shores". Cf. 'The Traveller', l. 411. + +l. 91. ----- + "And with the avenging fight". Varied from Collins's + 'Ode on the Death of Colonel Charles Ross at Fontenoy'. + +l. 177. ----- + "Its earliest bloom". Cf. Collins's 'Dirge in Cymbeline'. + + + + + + +SONG + +FROM 'SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER.' + +This thoroughly characteristic song, for a parallel to which one must go +to Congreve, or to the 'Here's to the maiden of bashful fifteen' of 'The +School for Scandal', has one grave defect, -- it is too good to have +been composed by Tony Lumpkin, who, despite his inability to read +anything but 'print-hand,' declares, in Act i. Sc. 2 of 'She Stoops to +Conquer', 1773, that he himself made it upon the ale-house ('The Three +Pigeons') in which he sings it, and where it is followed by the annexed +comments, directed by the author against the sentimentalists, who, in +'The Good Natur'd Man' of five years before, had insisted upon the +omission of the Bailiff scene:-- + +'OMNES. +Bravo, bravo! + +'First' FELLOW. +The 'Squire has got spunk in him. + +'Second' FELLOW. +I loves to hear him sing, bekeays he never gives us nothing +that's 'low'... + +'Fourth' FELLOW. +The genteel thing is the genteel thing at any time. If so be that a +gentleman bees in a concatenation accordingly. + +'Third' FELLOW. +I like the maxum of it, Master Muggins. What, tho' I am obligated to +dance a bear, a man may be a gentleman for all that. May this be my +poison if my bear ever dances but to the very genteelest of tunes. +'Water parted'*, or the minuet in 'Ariadne'.' + +[footnote] *i.e. Arne's 'Water Parted from the Sea', -- the song of +Arbaces in the opera of 'Artaxerxes, 1762. The minuet in 'Ariadne' was +by Handel. It came at the end of the overture, and is said to have been +the best thing in the opera. + +l. 9. ----- + "When Methodist preachers, etc." Tony Lumpkin's + utterance accurately represents the view of this sect taken by + some of his contemporaries. While moderate and just spectators + of the Johnson type could recognize the sincerity of men, who, + like Wesley, travelled 'nine hundred miles in a month, and + preached twelve times a week' for no ostensibly adequate reward, + there were others who saw in Methodism, and especially in the + extravagancies of its camp followers, nothing but cant and + duplicity. It was this which prompted on the stage Foote's + 'Minor' (1760) and Bickerstaffe's 'Hypocrite' (1768); in art the + 'Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism' of Hogarth (1762); and + in literature the 'New Bath Guide' of Anstey (1766), the + 'Spiritual Quixote' of Graves, 1772, and the sarcasms of Sterne, + Smollett and Walpole. + + It is notable that the most generous contemporary portrait of + these much satirised sectaries came from one of the originals of + the 'Retaliation' gallery. Scott highly praises the character of + Ezekiel Daw in Cumberland's 'Henry', 1795, adding, in his large + impartial fashion, with reference to the general practice of + representing Methodists either as idiots or hypocrites, 'A very + different feeling is due to many, perhaps to most, of this + enthusiastic sect; nor is it rashly to be inferred, that he who + makes religion the general object of his life, is for that sole + reason to be held either a fool or an impostor.' (Scott's + 'Miscellaneous Prose Works', 1834, iii. 222.) + +l. 23. ----- + "But of all the birds in the air". Hypercriticism may + object that 'the hare' is not a bird. But exigence of rhyme has + to answer for many things. Some editors needlessly read 'the + 'gay' birds' to lengthen the line. There is no sanction for this + in the earlier editions. + + + + + + + +EPILOGUE TO 'SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER.' + +This epilogue was spoken by Mrs. Bulkley in the character of +Miss Hardcastle. It is probably the epilogue described by +Goldsmith to Cradock, in the letter quoted at p. 246, as 'a very +mawkish thing,' a phrase not so incontestable as Bolton Corney's +remark that it is 'an obvious imitation of Shakespere.' + +l. 6. ----- + "That pretty Bar-maids have done execution". Cf. 'The + Vicar of Wakefield', 1766, i. 7:-- 'Sophia's features were not + so striking at first; but often did more certain execution.' + +l. 16. ----- + "coquets the guests". Johnson explains this word 'to + entertain with compliments and amorous tattle,' and quotes the + following illustration from Swift, 'You are 'coquetting' a maid + of honour, my lord looking on to see how the gamesters play, and + I railing at you both.' + +l. 26. ----- + "Nancy Dawson". Nancy Dawson was a famous 'toast' and + horn-pipe dancer, who died at Haverstock Hill, May 27, 1767, and + was buried behind the Foundling, in the burial-ground of St. + George the Martyr. She first appeared at Sadler's Wells, and + speedily passed to the stage of Covent Garden, where she danced + in the 'Beggar's Opera'. There is a portrait of her in the + Garrick Club, and there are several contemporary prints. She was + the heroine of a popular song, here referred to, beginning:-- + + Of all the girls in our town, + The black, the fair, the red, the brown, + Who dance and prance it up and down, + There's none like Nancy Dawson: + Her easy mien, her shape so neat, + She foots, she trips, she looks so sweet, + Her ev'ry motion is complete; + I die for Nancy Dawson. + + Its tune -- says J. T. Smith ('Book for a Rainy Day', Whitten's + ed., 1905, p. 10) was 'as lively as that of "Sir Roger de + Coverley."' + + "Che faro", i.e. 'Che faro senza Euridice', the lovely lament + from Gluck's 'Orfeo', 1764. + +l. 28. ----- + "the Heinel of Cheapside". The reference is to + Mademoiselle Anna-Frederica Heinel, 1752-1808, a beautiful + Prussian, subsequently the wife of Gaetano Apollino Balthazar + Vestris, called 'Vestris the First.' After extraordinary success + as a 'danseuse' at Stuttgard and Paris, where Walpole saw her in + 1771 (Letter to the Earl of Strafford 25th August), she had come + to London; and, at this date, was the darling of the Macaronies + (cf. the note on p. 247, l. 31), who, from their club, added a + 'regallo' (present) of six hundred pounds to the salary allowed + her at the Haymarket. On April 1, 1773, Metastasio's 'Artaserse' + was performed for her benefit, when she was announced to dance a + minuet with Monsieur Fierville, and 'Tickets were to be hand, at + her house in Piccadilly, two doors from Air Street.' + +l. 31. ----- + "spadille", i.e. the ace of spades, the first trump in + the game of Ombre. Cf. Swift's 'Journal of a Modern Lady in a + Letter to a Person of Quality', 1728:-- + + She draws up card by card, to find + Good fortune peeping from behind; + With panting heart, and earnest eyes, + In hope to see 'spadillo' rise; + In vain, alas! her hope is fed; + She draws an ace, and sees it red. + +l. 35. ----- + "Bayes". The chief character in Buckingham's + 'Rehearsal', 1672, and intended for John Dryden. Here the name + is put for the 'poet' or 'dramatist.' Cf. Murphy's Epilogue to + Cradock's 'Zobeide', 1771:-- + + Not e'en poor 'Bayes' within must hope to be + Free from the lash:-- His Play he writ for me + 'Tis true -- and now my gratitude you'll see; + + and Colman's Epilogue to 'The School for Scandal', 1777:-- + So wills our virtuous bard -- the motley 'Bayes' + Of crying epilogues and laughing plays! + + + + + + + +RETALIATION. + +'Retaliation: A Poem. By Doctor Goldsmith. Including Epitaphs on the +Most Distinguished Wits of this Metropolis', was first published by G. +Kearsly in April, 1774, as a 4to pamphlet of 24 pp. On the title-page is +a vignette head of the author, etched by James Basire, after Reynolds's +portrait; and the verses are prefaced by an anonymous letter to the +publisher, concluding as follows:-- 'Dr. Goldsmith 'belonged to a Club +of' Beaux Esprits, 'where Wit sparkled sometimes at the Expence of +Good-nature. It was proposed to write Epitaphs on the Doctor; his +Country, Dialect and Person, furnished Subjects of Witticism. -- The +Doctor was called on for' Retaliation, 'and at their next Meeting +produced the following Poem, which I think adds one Leaf to his immortal +Wreath.' This account seems to have sufficed for Evans, Percy, and the +earlier editors. But in vol. i. p. 78 of his edition of Goldsmith's +'Works', 1854, Mr. Peter Cunningham published for the first time a +fuller version of the circumstances, derived from a manuscript lent to +him by Mr. George Daniel of Islington; and (says Mr. Cunningham) +'evidently designed as a preface to a collected edition of the poems +which grew out of Goldsmith's trying his epigrammatic powers with +Garrick.' It is signed 'D. Garrick.' 'At a meeting' -- says the writer +-- 'of a company of gentlemen, who were well known to each other, and +diverting themselves, among many other things, with the peculiar +oddities of Dr. Goldsmith, who would never allow a superior in any art, +from writing poetry down to dancing a horn-pipe, the Dr. with great +eagerness insisted upon trying his epigrammatic powers with Mr. Garrick, +and each of them was to write the other's epitaph. Mr. Garrick +immediately said that his epitaph was finished, and spoke the following +distich extempore:-- + +Here lies NOLLY Goldsmith, for shortness call'd Noll, +Who wrote like an angel, but talk'd like poor Poll. + +Goldsmith, upon the company's laughing very heartily, grew very +thoughtful, and either would not, or could not, write anything at that +time: however, he went to work, and some weeks after produced the +following printed poem called 'Retaliation', which has been much +admired, and gone through several editions.' This account, though +obviously from Garrick's point of view, is now accepted as canonical, +and has superseded those of Davies, Cradock, Cumberland, and others, to +which some reference is made in the ensuing notes. + +A few days after the publication of the first edition, which appeared on +the 18th or 19th of April, a 'new' or second edition was issued, with +four pages of 'Explanatory Notes, Observations, etc.' At the end came +the following announcement:-- 'G. Kearsly, the Publisher, thinks it his +duty to declare, that Dr. Goldsmith wrote the Poem as it is here +printed, a few errors of the press excepted, which are taken notice of +at the bottom of this page.' From this version 'Retaliation' is here +reproduced. In the third edition, probably in deference to some wounded +susceptibilities, the too comprehensive 'most Distinguished Wits of the +Metropolis' was qualified into ''some of the most' Distinguished Wits,' +etc., but no further material alteration was made in the text until the +suspicious lines on Caleb Whitefoord were added to the fifth edition. + +With the exception of Garrick's couplet, and the fragment of Whitefoord +referred to at p. 234, none of the original epitaphs upon which +Goldsmith was invited to 'retaliate' have survived. But the unexpected +ability of the retort seems to have prompted a number of 'ex post facto' +performances, some of which the writers would probably have been glad to +pass off as their first essays. Garrick, for example, produced three +short pieces, one of which ('Here, Hermes! says Jove, who with nectar +was mellow') hits off many of Goldsmith's contradictions and foibles +with considerable skill ('v'. Davies's 'Garrick', 2nd ed., 1780, ii. +157). Cumberland ('v. Gent. Mag'., Aug. 1778, p. 384) parodied the +poorest part of 'Retaliation', the comparison of the guests to dishes, +by likening them to liquors, and Dean Barnard in return rhymed upon +Cumberland. He wrote also an apology for his first attack, which is said +to have been very severe, and conjured the poet to set his wit at +Garrick, who, having fired his first shot, was keeping out of the way:-- + + On him let all thy vengeance fall; + On me you but misplace it: + Remember how he called thee 'Poll' -- + But, ah! he dares not face it. + +For these, and other forgotten pieces arising out of 'Retaliation', +Garrick had apparently prepared the above-mentioned introduction. It may +be added that the statement, prefixed to the first edition, that +'Retaliation', as we now have it, was produced at the 'next meeting' of +the Club, is manifestly incorrect. It was composed and circulated in +detached fragments, and Goldsmith was still working at it when he was +seized with his last illness. + +l. 1. ----- + "Of old, when Scarron, etc." Paul Scarron (1610-60), the + author 'inter alia' of the 'Roman Comique', 1651-7, upon a + translation of which Goldsmith was occupied during the last + months of his life. It was published by Griffin in 1776. + +l. 2. ----- + "Each guest brought his dish". 'Chez Scarron,' -- says + his editor, M. Charles Baumet, when speaking of the poet's + entertainments, -- 'venait d'ailleurs l'elite des dames, des + courtisans & des hommes de lettres. On y dinait joyeusement. + 'Chacun apportait son plat'.' ('Oeuvres de Scarron', 1877, i. + viii.) Scarron's company must have been as brilliant as + Goldsmith's. Villarceaux, Vivonne, the Marechal d'Albret, + figured in his list of courtiers; while for ladies he had + Mesdames Deshoulieres, de Scudery, de la Sabliere, and de + Sevigne, to say nothing of Ninon de Lenclos and Marion Delorme. + (Cf. also Guizot, 'Corneille et son Temps', 1862, 429-30.) + +l. 3. ----- + "If our landlord". The 'explanatory note' to the second + edition says -- 'The master of the St. James's coffee-house, + where the Doctor, and the friends he has characterized in this + Poem, held an occasional club.' This, it should be stated, was + not the famous 'Literary Club,' which met at the Turk's Head + Tavern in Gerrard Street. The St. James's Coffee-house, as + familiar to Swift and Addison at the beginning, as it was to + Goldsmith and his friends at the end of the eighteenth century, + was the last house but one on the south-west corner of St. + James's Street. It now no longer exists. Cradock ('Memoirs', + 1826, i. 228-30) speaks of dining 'at the bottom of St. James's + Street' with Goldsmith, Percy, the two Burkes ('v. infra'), + Johnson, Garrick, Dean Barnard, and others. 'We sat very late;' + he adds in conclusion, 'and the conversation that at last + ensued, was the direct cause of my friend Goldsmith's poem, + called "Retaliation."' + +l. 5. ----- + "Our Dean". Dr. Thomas Barnard, an Irishman, at this + time Dean of Derry. He died at Wimbledon in 1806. It was Dr. + Barnard who, in reply to a rude sally of Johnson, wrote the + charming verses on improvement after the age of forty-five, + which end -- + + If I have thoughts, and can't express them, + Gibbon shall teach me how to dress them, + In terms select and terse; + Jones teach me modesty and Greek, + Smith how to think, Burke how to speak, + And Beauclerk to converse. + Let Johnson teach me how to place + In fairest light, each borrow'd grace, + From him I'll learn to write; + Copy his clear, familiar style, + And from the roughness of his file + Grow like himself -- polite. + + (Northcote's 'Life of Reynolds', 2nd ed., 1819, i. 221.) + According to Cumberland ('Memoirs', 1807, i. 370), 'The dean + also gave him [Goldsmith] an epitaph, and Sir Joshua illuminated + the dean's verses with a sketch of his bust in pen and ink + inimitably caricatured.' What would collectors give for that + sketch and epitaph! Unfortunately in Cumberland's septuagenarian + recollections the 'truth severe' is mingled with an unusual + amount of 'fairy fiction.' However Sir Joshua 'did' draw + caricatures, for a number of them were exhibited at the + Grosvenor Gallery (by the Duke of Devonshire) in the winter of + 1883-4. + +l. 6. ----- + "Our Burke". The Right Hon. Edmund Burke, 1729-97. + +l. 7. ----- + "Our Will". 'Mr. William Burke, late Secretary to + General Conway, and member for Bedwin, Wiltshire' (Note to + second edition). He was a kinsman of Edmund Burke, and one of + the supposed authors of Junius's 'Letters'. He died in 1798. 'It + is said that the notices Goldsmith first wrote of the Burkes + were so severe that Hugh Boyd persuaded the poet to alter them, + and entirely rewrite the character of William, for he was sure + that if the Burkes saw what was originally written of them the + peace of the Club would be disturbed.' (Rev. W. Hunt in 'Dict. + Nat. Biography', Art. 'William Burke.') + +l. 8. ----- + "And Dick". Richard Burke, Edmund Burke's younger + brother. He was for some years Collector to the Customs at + Grenada, being on a visit to London when 'Retaliation' was + written (Forster's 'Life', 1871, ii. 404). He died in 1794, + Recorder of Bristol. + +l. 9. ----- + "Our Cumberland's sweetbread". Richard Cumberland, the + poet, novelist, and dramatist, 1731-1811, author of 'The West + Indian', 1771, 'The Fashionable Lover', 1772, and many other + more or less sentimental plays. In his 'Memoirs', 1807, i. + 369-71, he gives an account of the origin of 'Retaliation', + which adds a few dubious particulars to that of Garrick. But it + was written from memory long after the events it records. + +l. 10. ----- + "Douglas". 'Dr. Douglas, since Bishop of Salisbury,' + says Cumberland. He died in 1807 ('v. infra'). + +l. 14. ----- + "Ridge". 'Counsellor John Ridge, a gentleman belonging + to the Irish Bar' (Note to second edition). 'Burke,' says Bolton + Corney, 'in 1771, described him as "one of the honestest and + best-natured men living, and inferior to none of his profession + in ability."' (See also note to line 125.) + +l. 15. ----- + "Hickey". The commentator of the second edition of + 'Retaliation' calls this gentleman 'honest Tom Hickey'. His + Christian name, however, was 'Joseph' (Letter of Burke, November + 8, 1774). He was a jovial, good-natured, over-blunt Irishman, + the legal adviser of both Burke and Reynolds. Indeed it was + Hickey who drew the conveyance of the land on which Reynolds's + house 'next to the Star and Garter' at Richmond (Wick House) was + built by Chambers the architect. Hickey died in 1794. Reynolds + painted his portrait for Burke, and it was exhibited at the + Royal Academy in 1772 (No. 208). In 1833 it belonged to Mr. T. + H. Burke. Sir Joshua also painted Miss Hickey in 1769-73. Her + father, not much to Goldsmith's satisfaction, was one of the + Paris party in 1770. See also note to l. 125. + +l. 16. ----- + "Magnanimous Goldsmith". According to Malone + (Reynolds's 'Works', second edition, 1801, i. xc), Goldsmith + intended to have concluded with his own character. + +l. 34. ----- + "Tommy Townshend", M.P. for Whitchurch, Hampshire, + afterwards first Viscount Sydney. He died in 1800. Junius says + Bolton Corney, gives a portrait of him as 'still life'. His + presence in 'Retaliation' is accounted for by the fact that he + had commented in Parliament upon Johnson's pension. 'I am well + assured,' says Boswell, 'that Mr. Townshend's attack upon + Johnson was the occasion of his "hitching in a rhyme"; for, that + in the original copy of Goldsmith's character of Mr. Burke, in + his 'Retaliation' another person's name stood in the couplet + where Mr. Townshend is now introduced.' (Birkbeck Hill's + 'Boswell', 1887, iv. 318.) + +l. 35. ----- + "too deep for his hearers". 'The emotion to which he + commonly appealed was that too rare one, the love of wisdom, and + he combined his thoughts and knowledge in propositions of wisdom + so weighty and strong, that the minds of ordinary hearers were + not on the instant prepared for them.' (Morley's 'Burke', 1882, + 209-10.) + +l. 36. ----- + "And thought of convincing, while they thought of + dining". For the reason given in the previous note, many of + Burke's hearers often took the opportunity of his rising to + speak, to retire to dinner. Thus he acquired the nickname of the + 'Dinner Bell.' + +l. 42. ----- + "To eat mutton cold". There is a certain resemblance + between this character and Gray's lines on himself written in + 1761, beginning 'Too poor for a bribe, and too proud to + importune.' (See Gosse's 'Gray's Works', 1884, i. 127.) But both + Gray and Goldsmith may have been thinking of a line in the once + popular song of 'Ally Croaker':-- + + Too dull for a wit, too grave for a joker. + +l. 43. ----- + "honest William", i.e. William Burke ('v. supra'). + +l. 54. ----- + "Now breaking a jest, and now breaking a limb". A note + to the second edition says -- 'The above Gentleman [Richard + Burke, 'v. supra'] having slightly fractured one of his arms and + legs, at different times, the Doctor [i.e. Goldsmith] has + rallied him on those accidents, as a kind of 'retributive' + justice for breaking his jests on other people.' + +l. 61. ----- + "Here Cumberland lies". According to Boaden's 'Life of + Kemble', 1825, i. 438, Mrs. Piozzi rightly regarded this + portrait as wholly ironical; and Bolton Corney, without much + expenditure of acumen, discovers it to have been written in a + spirit of 'persiflage'. Nevertheless, Cumberland himself + ('Memoirs', 1807, i. 369) seems to have accepted it in good + faith. Speaking of Goldsmith he says -- I conclude my account of + him with gratitude for the epitaph he bestowed on me in his poem + called 'Retaliation'.' From the further details which he gives + of the circumstances, it would appear that his own performance, + of which he could recall but one line -- + + All mourn the poet, I lament the man -- + + was conceived in a less malicious spirit than those of the + others, and had predisposed the sensitive bard in his favour. + But no very genuine cordiality could be expected to exist + between the rival authors of 'The West Indian' and 'She Stoops + to Conquer'. + +l. 66. ----- + "And Comedy wonders at being so fine". It is + instructive here to transcribe Goldsmith's serious opinion of + the kind of work which Cumberland essayed:-- 'A new species of + Dramatic Composition has been introduced, under the name of + 'Sentimental' Comedy, in which the virtues of Private Life are + exhibited, rather than the Vices exposed; and the Distresses + rather than the Faults of Mankind, make our interest in the + piece.... In these Plays almost all the Characters are good, and + exceedingly generous; they are lavish enough of their 'Tin' + Money on the Stage, and though they want Humour, have abundance + of Sentiment and Feeling. If they happen to have Faults or + Foibles, the Spectator is taught not only to pardon, but to + applaud them, in consideration of the goodness of their hearts; + so that Folly, instead of being ridiculed, is commended, and the + Comedy aims at touching our Passions without the power of being + truly pathetic.' ('Westminster Magazine', 1772, i. 5.) Cf. also + the 'Preface to The Good Natur'd Man', where he 'hopes that too + much refinement will not banish humour and character from our's, + as it has already done from the French theatre. Indeed the + French comedy is now become so very elevated and sentimental, + that it has not only banished humour and 'Moliere' from the + stage, but it has banished all spectators too.' + +l. 80. ----- + "The scourge of impostors, the terror of quacks". Dr. + John Douglas ('v. supra') distinguished himself by his exposure + of two of his countrymen, Archibald Bower, 1686-1766, who, being + secretly a member of the Catholic Church, wrote a 'History of + the Popes'; and William Lauder 1710-1771, who attempted to prove + Milton a plagiarist. Cf. Churchill's 'Ghost', Bk. ii:-- + + By TRUTH inspir'd when 'Lauder's' spight + O'er MILTON cast the Veil of Night, + DOUGLAS arose, and thro' the maze + Of intricate and winding ways, + Came where the subtle Traitor lay, + And dragg'd him trembling to the day. + + 'Lauder on Milton' is one of the books bound to the + trunk-maker's in Hogarth's 'Beer Street', 1751. He imposed on + Johnson, who wrote him a 'Preface' and was consequently trounced + by Churchill ('ut supra') as 'our Letter'd POLYPHEME.' + +l. 86. ----- + "Our Dodds shall be pious". The reference is to the + Rev. Dr. William Dodd, who three years after the publication of + 'Retaliation' (i.e. June 27, 1777) was hanged at Tyburn for + forging the signature of the fifth Earl of Chesterfield, to whom + he had been tutor. His life previously had long been scandalous + enough to justify Goldsmith's words. Johnson made strenuous and + humane exertions to save Dodd's life, but without avail. (See + Birkbeck Hill's 'Boswell', 1887, iii. 139-48.) There is an + account of Dodd's execution at the end of vol. i of Angelo's + 'Reminiscences', 1830. + + "our Kenricks". Dr. William Kenrick -- say the earlier + annotators -- who 'read lectures at the Devil Tavern, under the + Title of "The School of Shakespeare."' The lectures began + January 19, 1774, and help to fix the date of the poem. + Goldsmith had little reason for liking this versatile and + unprincipled Ishmaelite of letters, who, only a year before, had + penned a scurrilous attack upon him in 'The London Packet'. + Kenrick died in 1779. + +l. 87. ----- + "Macpherson". 'David [James] Macpherson, Esq.; who + lately, from the mere 'force of his style', wrote down the first + poet of all antiquity.' (Note to second edition.) This was + 'Ossian' Macpherson, 1738-96, who, in 1773, had followed up his + Erse epics by a prose translation of Homer, which brought him + little but opprobrium. 'Your abilities, since your Homer, are + not so formidable,' says Johnson in the knockdown letter which + he addressed to him in 1775. (Birkbeck Hill's 'Boswell', 1887, + ii. 298.) + +l. 88. ----- + "Our Townshend". See note to line 34. + +l. 89. ----- + "New Lauders and Bowers". See note to l. 80. + +l. 92. ----- + "And Scotchman meet Scotchman, and cheat in the dark". + Mitford compares Farquhar's 'Love and a Bottle', 1699, Act iii-- + + But gods meet gods and jostle in the dark. + + But Farquhar was quoting from Dryden and Lee's 'Oedipus', 1679, + Act iv (at end). + +l. 93. ----- + "Here lies David Garrick". 'The sum of all that can be + said for and against Mr. Garrick, some people think, may be + found in these lines of Goldsmith,' writes Davies in his 'Life + of Garrick', 2nd ed., 1780, ii. 159. Posterity has been less + hesitating in its verdict. 'The lines on Garrick,' says Forster, + 'Life of Goldsmith', 1871, ii. 409, 'are quite perfect writing. + Without anger, the satire is finished, keen, and uncompromising; + the wit is adorned by most discriminating praise; and the truth + is only the more unsparing for its exquisite good manners and + good taste.' + +l. 115. ----- + "Ye Kenricks". See note to line 86. + + "ye Kellys". Hugh Kelly (1739-1777), an Irishman, the author of + 'False Delicacy', 1768; 'A Word to the Wise', 1770; 'The School + for Wives', 1774, and other 'sentimental dramas,' is here + referred to. His first play, which is described in Garrick's + prologue as a 'Sermon,' 'preach'd in Acts,' was produced at + Drury Lane just six days before Goldsmith's comedy of 'The Good + Natur'd Man' appeared at Covent Garden, and obtained a success + which it ill deserved. 'False Delicacy' -- said Johnson truly + (Birkbeck Hill's 'Boswell', 1887, ii. 48) -- 'was totally void + of character,' -- a crushing accusation to make against a drama. + But Garrick, for his private ends, had taken up Kelly as a rival + to Goldsmith; and the 'comedie serieuse' or 'larmoyante' of La + Chaussee, Sedaine, and Diderot had already found votaries in + England. 'False Delicacy', weak, washy, and invertebrate as it + was, completed the transformation of 'genteel' into + 'sentimental' comedy, and establishing that 'genre' for the next + few years, effectually retarded the wholesome reaction towards + humour and character which Goldsmith had tried to promote by + 'The Good Natur'd Man'. (See note to l. 66.) + + "Woodfalls". 'William Woodfall' -- says Bolton Corney -- + 'successively editor of 'The London Packet' and 'The Morning + Chronicle', was matchless as a reporter of speeches, and an able + theatrical critic. He made lofty pretensions to editorial + impartiality -- but the actor [i.e. Garrick] was not 'always' + satisfied.' He died in 1803. He must not be confounded with + Henry Sampson Woodfall, the editor of Junius's 'Letters'. (See + note to l. 162.) + +l. 120. ----- + "To act as an angel". There is a sub-ironic touch in + this phrase which should not be overlooked. Cf. l. 102. + +l. 125. ----- + "Here Hickey reclines". See note to l. 15. In + Cumberland's 'Poetical Epistle to Dr. Goldsmith; or Supplement + to his Retaliation' {'Gentleman's Magazine', Aug. 1778, p. 384) + Hickey's genial qualities are thus referred to:-- + + Give RIDGE and HICKY, generous souls! + Of WHISKEY PUNCH convivial bowls. + +l. 134. ----- + "a special attorney". A special attorney was merely an + attorney who practised in one court only. The species is now + said to be extinct. + +l. 135. ----- + "burn ye". The annotator of the second edition, + apologizing for this 'forced' rhyme to 'attorney,' informs the + English reader that the phrase of 'burn ye' is 'a familiar + method of salutation in Ireland amongst the lower classes of the + people.' + +l. 137. ----- + "Here Reynolds is laid". This shares the palm with the + admirable epitaphs on Garrick and Burke. But Goldsmith loved + Reynolds, and there are no satiric strokes in the picture. If we + are to believe Malone (Reynolds's 'Works', second edition, 1801, + i. xc), 'these were the last lines the author wrote.' + +l. 140. ----- + "bland". Malone ('ut supra', lxxxix) notes this word + as 'eminently happy, and characteristick of his [Reynolds's] + easy and placid manners.' Boswell (Dedication of 'Life of + Johnson') refers to his 'equal and placid temper.' Cf. also Dean + Barnard's verses (Northcote's 'Life of Reynolds', 2nd ed., 1819, + i. 220), and Mrs. Piozzi's lines in her 'Autobiography', 2nd + ed., 1861, ii. 175-6. + +l. 146. ----- + "He shifted his trumpet". While studying Raphael in + the Vatican in 1751, Reynolds caught so severe a cold 'as to + occasion a deafness which obliged him to use an ear-trumpet for + the remainder of his life.' (Taylor and Leslie's 'Reynolds', + 1865, i. 50.) This instrument figures in a portrait of himself + which he painted for Thrale about 1775. See also Zoffany's + picture of the 'Academicians gathered about the model in the + Life School at Somerset House,' 1772, where he is shown + employing it to catch the conversation of Wilton and Chambers. + + "and only took snuff". Sir Joshua was a great snuff-taker. His + snuff-box, described in the Catalogue as the one 'immortalized + in Goldsmith's 'Retaliation',' was exhibited, with his + spectacles and other personal relics, at the Grosvenor Gallery + in 1883-4. In the early editions this epitaph breaks off + abruptly at the word 'snuff.' But Malone says that half a line + more had been written. Prior gives this half line as 'By + flattery unspoiled --,' and affirms that among several erasures + in the manuscript sketch devoted to Reynolds it 'remained + unaltered.' ('Life', 1837, ii. 499.) See notes to ll. 53, 56, + and 91 of 'The Haunch of Venison'. + +l. 147. ----- + "Here Whitefoord reclines". The circumstances which + led to the insertion of these lines in the fifth edition are + detailed in the prefatory words of the publisher given at p. 92. + There is more than a suspicion that Whitefoord wrote them + himself; but they have too long been accepted as an appendage to + the poem to be now displaced. Caleb Whitefoord (born 1734) was a + Scotchman, a wine-merchant, and an art connoisseur, to whom J. + T. Smith, in his 'Life of Nollekens', 1828, i. 333-41, devotes + several pages. He was one of the party at the St. James's + Coffee-house. He died in 1810. There is a caricature of him in + 'Connoisseurs inspecting a Collection of George Morland,' + November, 16, 1807; and Wilkie's 'Letter of Introduction', 1814, + was a reminiscence of a visit which, when he first came to + London, he paid to Whitefoord. He was also painted by Reynolds + and Stuart. Hewins's 'Whitefoord Papers', 1898, throw no light + upon the story of the epitaph. + +l. 148. ----- + "a grave man". Cf. 'Romeo and Juliet', Act iii, Sc. 1: + -- 'Ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me 'a grave man'.' + This Shakespearean recollection is a little like Goldsmith's + way. (See note to 'The Haunch of Venison', l. 120.) + +l. 150. ----- + "and rejoic'd in a pun". 'Mr. W. is so notorious a + punster, that Doctor Goldsmith used to say, it was impossible to + keep him company, without being 'infected' with the 'itch of + punning'.' (Note to fifth edition.) + +l. 160. ----- + '"if the table he set on a roar".' Cf. 'Hamlet', Act + v, Sc. I. + +l. 162. ----- + "Woodfall", i.e. Henry Sampson Woodfall, printer of + 'The Public Advertiser'. He died in 1805. (See note to l. 115.) + +l. 170. ----- + "Cross-Readings, Ship-News, and Mistakes of the Press". + Over the 'nom de guerre' of 'Papyrius Cursor,' a real Roman + name, but as happy in its applicability as Thackeray's 'Manlius + Pennialinus,' Whitefoord contributed many specimens of this + mechanic wit to 'The Public Advertiser'. The 'Cross Readings' + were obtained by taking two or three columns of a newspaper + horizontally and 'onwards' instead of 'vertically' and + downwards, thus:-- + + Colds caught at this season are + The Companion to the Playhouse. + or + To be sold to the best Bidder, + My seat in Parliament being vacated. + + A more elaborate example is + + On Tuesday an address was presented; + it unhappily missed fire and the villain made off, + when the honour of knighthood was conferred on him + to the great joy of that noble family + + Goldsmith was hugely delighted with Whitefoord's 'lucky + inventions' when they first became popular in 1766. 'He + declared, in the heat of his admiration of them, it would have + given him more pleasure to have been the author of them than of + all the works he had ever published of his own' (Northcote's + 'Life of Reynolds', 2nd ed., 1819, i. 217). What is perhaps more + remarkable is, that Johnson spoke of Whitefoord's performances + as 'ingenious and diverting' (Birkbeck Hill's 'Boswell', 1887, + iv. 322); and Horace Walpole laughed over them till he cried + (Letter to Montagu, December 12, 1766). To use Voltaire's + witticism, he is 'bien heureux' who can laugh now. It may be + added that Whitefoord did not, as he claimed, originate the + 'Cross Readings.' They had been anticipated in No. 49 of + Harrison's spurious 'Tatler', vol. v [1720]. + + The fashion of the 'Ship-News' was in this wise: 'August 25 + [1765]. We hear that his Majestys Ship 'Newcastle' will soon + have a new figurehead, the old one being almost worn out.' The + 'Mistakes of the Press' explain themselves. (See also Smith's + 'Life of Nollekens', 1828, i. 336-7; Debrett's 'New Foundling + Hospital for Wit', 1784, vol. ii, and 'Gentleman's Magazine', + 1810, p. 300.) + +l. 172. ----- + "That a Scot may have humour, I had almost said wit". + Goldsmith, -- if he wrote these verses, -- must have forgotten + that he had already credited Whitefoord with 'wit' in l. 153. + +l. 174. ----- + "Thou best humour'd man with the worst humour'd muse". + Cf. Rochester of Lord Buckhurst, afterwards Earl of Dorset:-- + The best good man, with the worst-natur'd muse. + + Whitefoord's contribution to the epitaphs on Goldsmith is said + to have been unusually severe, -- so severe that four only of + its eight lines are quoted in the 'Whitefoord Papers', 1898, the + rest being 'unfit for publication' (p. xxvii). He afterwards + addressed a metrical apology to Sir Joshua, which is printed at + pp. 217-8 of Northcote's 'Life', 2nd ed., 1819. See also + Forster's 'Goldsmith', 1871, ii. 408-9. + + + + + + + +SONG FOR 'SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER.' + +Boswell, to whom we are indebted for the preservation of this +lively song, sent it to 'The London Magazine' for June, 1774 +(vol. xliii, p. 295), with the following:-- + + +'To the Editor of 'The London Magazine'. +SIR, -- I send you a small production of the late Dr. 'Goldsmith', which +has never been published, and which might perhaps have been totally lost +had I not secured it. He intended it as a song in the character of Miss +'Hardcastle', in his admirable comedy, 'She stoops to conquer'; but it +was left out, as Mrs. 'Bulkley' who played the part did not sing. He +sung it himself in private companies very agreeably. The tune is a +pretty Irish air, called 'The Humours of Balamagairy', to which, he told +me, he found it very difficult to adapt words; but he has succeeded +happily in these few lines. As I could sing the tune, and was fond of +them, he was so good as to give me them about a year ago, just as I was +leaving London, and bidding him adieu for that season, little +apprehending that it was a last farewell. I preserve this little relick +in his own handwriting with an affectionate care. +I am, Sir, +Your humble Servant, +JAMES BOSWELL.' + +When, seventeen years later, Boswell published his 'Life of Samuel +Johnson, LL.D.', he gave an account of his dining at General +Oglethorpe's in April, 1773, with Johnson and Goldsmith; and he says +that the latter sang the 'Three Jolly Pigeons', and this song, to the +ladies in the tea-room. Croker, in a note, adds that the younger Colman +more appropriately employed the 'essentially low comic' air for Looney +Mactwolter in the ['Review; or the] Wags of Windsor', 1808 [i.e. in that +character's song beginning -- 'Oh, whack! Cupid's a mannikin'], and that +Moore tried to bring it into good company in the ninth number of the +'Irish Melodies'. But Croker did not admire the tune, and thought poorly +of Goldsmith's words. Yet they are certainly fresher than Colman's or +Moore's:-- + + Sing -- sing -- Music was given, + To brighten the gay, and kindle the loving; + Souls here, like planets in Heaven, + By harmony's laws alone are kept moving, etc. + + + + + + + +TRANSLATION. + +These lines, which appear at p. 312 of vol. V of the 'History of the +Earth and Animated Nature', 1774, are freely translated from some Latin +verses by Addison in No 412 of the 'Spectator', where they are +introduced as follows:-- 'Thus we see that every different Species of +sensible Creatures has its different Notions of Beauty, and that each of +them is most affected with the Beauties of its own kind. This is nowhere +more remarkable than in Birds of the same Shape and Proportion, where we +often see the Male determined in his Courtship by the single Grain or +Tincture of a Feather, and never discovering any Charms but in the +Colour of its own Species.' Addison's lines, of which Goldsmith +translated the first fourteen only, are printed from his corrected MS. +at p. 4 of 'Some Portions of Essays contributed to the Spectator by Mr. +Joseph Addison [by the late J. Dykes Campbell], 1864. + + + + + + + +THE HAUNCH OF VENISON. + +It is supposed that this poem was written early in 1771, although it was +not printed until 1776, when it was published by G. Kearsly and J. +Ridley under the title of 'The Haunch of Venison, a Poetical Epistle to +the Lord Clare. By the late Dr. Goldsmith. With a Head of the Author, +Drawn by Henry Bunbury, Esq; and Etched by [James] Bretherton.' A second +edition, the text of which is here followed, appeared in the same year +'With considerable Additions and Corrections, Taken from the Author's +'last' Transcript.' The Lord Clare to whom the verses are addressed was +Robert Nugent, of Carlanstown, Westmeath, M.P. for St. Mawes in 1741-54. +In 1766 he was created Viscount Clare; in 1776 Earl Nugent. In his youth +he had himself been an easy if not very original versifier; and there +are several of his performances in the second volume of Dodsley's +'Collection of Poems by Several Hands', 4th ed., 1755. One of the +Epistles, beginning 'Clarinda, dearly lov'd, attend The Counsels of a +faithful friend,' seems to have betrayed Goldsmith into the blunder of +confusing it, in the 'Poems for Young Ladies'. 1767, p. 114, with +Lyttelton's better-known 'Advice to a Lady' ('The counsels of a friend, +Belinda, hear'), also in Dodsley's miscellany; while another piece, an +'Ode to William Pultney, Esq.', contains a stanza so good that Gibbon +worked it into his character of Brutus:-- + + What tho' the good, the brave, the wise, + With adverse force undaunted rise, + To break th' eternal doom! + Tho' CATO liv'd, tho' TULLY spoke, + Tho' BRUTUS dealt the godlike stroke, + Yet perish'd fated ROME. + +Detraction, however, has insinuated that Mallet, his step-son's tutor, +was Nugent's penholder in this instance. 'Mr. Nugent sure did not write +his own Ode,' says Gray to Walpole (Gray's 'Works', by Gosse, 1884, ii. +220). Earl Nugent died in Dublin in October, 1788, and was buried at +Gosfield in Essex, a property he had acquired with his second wife. A +'Memoir' of him was written in 1898 by Mr. Claud Nugent. He is described +by Cunningham as 'a big, jovial, voluptuous Irishman, with a loud voice, +a strong Irish accent, and a ready though coarse wit.' According to +Percy ('Memoir', 1801, p. 66), he had been attracted to Goldsmith by the +publication of 'The Traveller' in 1764, and he mentioned him favourably +to the Earl of Northumberland, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. A note +in Forster's 'Life', 1871, ii. 329-30, speaks of Goldsmith as a frequent +visitor at Gosfield, and at Nugent's house in Great George Street, +Westminster, where he had often for playmate his host's daughter, Mary, +afterwards Marchioness of Buckingham. + +Scott and others regarded 'The Haunch of Venison' as autobiographical. +To what extent this is the case, it is difficult to say. That it +represents the actual thanks of the poet to Lord Clare for an actual +present of venison, part of which he promptly transferred to Reynolds, +is probably the fact. But, as the following notes show, it is also clear +that Goldsmith borrowed, if not his entire fable, at least some of its +details from Boileau's third satire; and that, in certain of the lines, +he had in memory Swift's 'Grand Question Debated', the measure of which +he adopts. This throws more than a doubt upon the truth of the whole. +'His genius' (as Hazlitt says) 'was a mixture of originality and +imitation'; and fact and fiction often mingle inseparably in his work. +The author of the bailiff scene in the 'Good Natur'd Man' was quite +capable of inventing for the nonce the tragedy of the unbaked pasty, or +of selecting from the Pilkingtons and Purdons of his acquaintance such +appropriate guests for his Mile End Amphitryon as the writers of the +'Snarler' and the 'Scourge'. It may indeed even be doubted whether, if +'The Haunch of Venison' had been absolute personal history, Goldsmith +would ever have retailed it to his noble patron at Gosfield, although it +may include enough of real experience to serve as the basis for a 'jeu +d'esprit'. + +l. 4. ----- + "The fat was so white, etc." The first version reads -- + 'The white was so white, and the red was so ruddy.' + +l. 5. ----- + "Though my stomach was sharp, etc." This couplet is not + in the first version. + +l. 10. ----- + "One gammon of bacon". Prior compared a passage from + Goldsmith's 'Animated Nature', 1774, iii. 9, 'a propos' of a + similar practice in Germany, Poland, and Switzerland. 'A piece + of beef,' he says, 'hung up there, is considered as an elegant + piece of furniture, which, though seldom touched, at least + argues the possessor's opulence and ease.' + +l. 14. ----- + "a bounce", i.e. a braggart falsehood. Steele, in No. + 16 of 'The Lover', 1715, p. 110, says of a manifest piece of + brag, 'But this is supposed to be only a 'Bounce'.' + +l. 18. ----- + "Mr. Byrne", spelled 'Burn' in the earlier editions, was + a relative of Lord Clare. + +l. 24. ----- + "M--r--'s." MONROE's in the first version. 'Dorothy + Monroe,' says Bolton Corney, 'whose various charms are + celebrated in verse by Lord Townshend.' + +l. 27. ----- + "There's H--d, and C--y, and H--rth, and H--ff". In the + first version -- + 'There's COLEY, and WILLIAMS, and HOWARD, and HIFF.' + + -- Hiff was Paul Hiffernan, M.B., 1719-77, a Grub Street author + and practitioner. Bolton Corney hazards some conjectures as to + the others; but Cunningham wisely passes them over. + +l. 29. ----- + "H--gg--ns". Perhaps, suggests Bolton Corney, this was + the Captain Higgins who assisted at Goldsmith's absurd 'fracas' + with Evans the bookseller, upon the occasion of Kenrick's + letter in 'The London Packet' for March 24, 1773. Other + accounts, however, state that his companion was Captain Horneck + (Prior, 'Life', 1837, ii. 411-12). This couplet is not in the + first version + +l. 33. ----- + "Such dainties to them, etc." The first version reads:-- + + Such dainties to them! It 'would' look like a flirt, + Like sending 'em Ruffles when wanting a Shirt. + + Cunningham quotes a similar idea from T. Brown's 'Laconics, + Works', 1709, iv. 14. 'To treat a poor wretch with a bottle of + Burgundy, or fill his snuff-box, is like giving a pair of lace + ruffles to a man that has never a shirt on his back.' But + Goldsmith, as was his wont, had already himself employed the + same figure. 'Honours to one in my situation,' he says in a + letter to his brother Maurice, in January, 1770, when speaking + of his appointment as Professor of Ancient History to the Royal + Academy, 'are something like ruffles to a man that wants a + shirt' ('Percy Memoir', 1801, 87-8). His source was probably, + not Brown's 'Laconics', but those French 'ana' he knew so well. + According to M. J. J. Jusserand ('English Essays from a French + Pen', 1895, pp. 160-1), the originator of this conceit was M. + Samuel de Sorbieres, the traveller in England who was assailed + by Bishop Sprat. Considering himself inadequately rewarded by + his patrons, Mazarin, Louis XIV, and Pope Clement IX, he said + bitterly -- 'They give lace cuffs to a man without a shirt'; a + 'consolatory witticism' which he afterwards remodelled into, 'I + wish they would send me bread for the butter they kindly + provided me with.' In this form it appears in the Preface to the + 'Sorberiana', Toulouse, 1691. + + "a flirt" is a jibe or jeer. 'He would sometimes...cast out a + jesting 'flirt' at me.' (Morley's 'History of Thomas Ellwood', + 1895, p. 104.) Swift also uses the word. + +l. 37. ----- + "An under-bred, fine-spoken fellow, etc." The first + version reads -- + + A fine-spoken Custom-house Officer he, + Who smil'd as he gaz'd on the Ven'son and me. + +l. 44. ----- + "but I hate ostentation". Cf. Beau Tibbs:-- 'She was + bred, 'but that's between ourselves', under the inspection of + the Countess of All-night.' ('Citizen of the World', 1762, i. + 238.) + +l. 49. ----- + "We'll have Johnson, and Burke". Cf. Boileau, 'Sat.' + iii. Ll. 25-6, which Goldsmith had in mind:-- + + Moliere avec Tartufe y doit jouer son role, + Et Lambert, qui plus est, m'a donne sa parole. + +l. 53. ----- + "What say you -- a pasty? It shall, and it must". The + first version reads -- + + I'll take no denial -- you shall, and you must. + + Mr. J. H. Lobban, 'Goldsmith, Select Poems', 1900, notes a + hitherto undetected similarity between this and the 'It 'must', + and it 'shall' be a barrack, my life' of Swift's 'Grand Question + Debated'. See also ll. 56 and 91. + +l. 56. "No stirring, I beg -- my dear friend -- my dear + friend". In the first edition -- + + No words, my dear GOLDSMITH! my very good Friend! + + Mr. Lobban compares:-- + 'Good morrow, good captain.' 'I'll wait on you down,' -- + 'You shan't stir a foot.' 'You'll think me a clown.' + +l. 60. ----- + "'And nobody with me at sea but myself.'" This is + almost a textual quotation from one of the letters of Henry + Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, to Lady Grosvenor, a + correspondence which in 1770 gave great delight to contemporary + caricaturists and scandal-mongers. Other poets besides Goldsmith + seem to have been attracted by this particular lapse of his + illiterate Royal Highness, since it is woven into a ballad + printed in 'The Public Advertiser' for August 2 in the above + year:-- + + The Miser who wakes in a Fright for his Pelf, + And finds 'no one by him except his own Self', etc. + +l. 67. ----- + "When come to the place", etc. + Cf. Boileau, 'ut supra', ll. 31-4:-- + + A peine etais-je entre, que ravi de me voir, + Mon homme, en m'embrassant, m'est venu recevoir; + Et montrant a mes yeux une allegresse entiere, + Nous n'avons, m'a-t-il dit, ni Lambert ni Moliere. + + Lambert the musician, it may be added, had the special + reputation of accepting engagements which he never kept. + +l. 72. ----- + "and t'other with Thrale". Henry Thrale, the Southwark + brewer, and the husband of Mrs. Thrale, afterwards Mrs. Piozzi. + Johnson first made his acquaintance in 1765. Strahan complained + to Boswell that, by this connexion, Johnson 'was in a great + measure absorbed from the society of his old friends.' (Birkbeck + Hill's 'Boswell', 1887, iii. 225.) Line 72 in the first edition + reads -- + + The one at the House, and the other with THRALE. + +l. 76. ----- + "They both of them merry and authors like you". 'They' + should apparently be 'they're.' The first version reads -- + + Who dabble and write in the Papers -- like you. + +l. 78. ----- + "Some think he writes Cinna -- he owns to Panurge". + 'Panurge' and 'Cinna' are signatures which were frequently to be + found at the foot of letters addressed to the 'Public + Advertiser' in 1770-1 in support of Lord Sandwich and the + Government. They are said to have been written by Dr. W. Scott, + Vicar of Simonburn, Northumberland, and chaplain of Greenwich + Hospital, both of which preferments had been given him by + Sandwich. In 1765 he had attacked Lord Bute and his policy over + the signature of 'Anti-Sejanus.' 'Sandwich and his parson + Anti-Sejanus [are] hooted off the stage' -- writes Walpole to + Mann, March 21, 1766. According to Prior, it was Scott who + visited Goldsmith in his Temple chambers, and invited him to + 'draw a venal quill' for Lord North's administration. + Goldsmith's noble answer, as reported by his reverend friend, + was -- 'I can earn as much as will supply my wants without + writing for any party; the assistance therefore you offer is + unnecessary to me.' ('Life', 1837, ii. 278.) There is a + caricature portrait of Scott at p. 141 of 'The London Museum' + for February, 1771, entitled 'Twitcher's Advocate,' 'Jemmy + Twitcher' being the nickname of Lord Sandwich. + +l. 82. ----- + "Swinging', great, huge. 'Bishop Lowth has just + finished the Dramas, and sent me word, that although I have paid + him the most 'swinging' compliment he ever received, he likes + the whole book more than he can say.' ('Memoirs of Hannah More', + 1834, i. 236.) + +l. 84. ----- + "pasty". The first version has 'Ven'son.' + +l. 87. ----- + "So there I sat, etc." This couplet is not in the first + version. + +l. 91. ----- + "And, 'Madam,' quoth he". Mr. Lobban again quotes + Swift's 'Grant Question Debated':-- + + And 'Madam,' says he, 'if such dinners you give + You'll ne'er want for parsons as long as you live.' + + These slight resemblances, coupled with the more obvious + likeness of the 'Raphaels, Correggios, and stuff' of + 'Retaliation' (ll. 145-6) to the 'Noveds' and 'Bluturks' and + 'Omurs' and stuff' (also pointed out by Mr. Lobban) are + interesting, because they show plainly that Goldsmith remembered + the works of Swift far better than 'The New Bath Guide', which + has sometimes been supposed to have set the tune to the 'Haunch' + and 'Retaliation'. + +l. 91. ----- + "'may this bit be my poison.'" The gentleman in 'She + Stoops to Conquer', Act i, who is 'obligated to dance a bear.' + Uses the same asseveration. Cf. also Squire Thornhill's + somewhat similar formula in chap. vii of 'The Vicar of + Wakefield', 1766, i. 59. + +l. 95. ----- + "'The tripe,' quoth the Jew, etc". The first version + reads -- + + 'Your Tripe!' quoth the 'Jew', 'if the truth I may speak, + I could eat of this Tripe seven days in the week.' + +l. 103. ----- + "Re-echoed", i.e. 'returned' in the first edition. + +l. 104. ----- + "thot". This, probably by a printer's error, is + altered to 'that' in the second version. But the first reading + is the more in keeping, besides being a better rhyme. + +l. 110. ----- + "Wak'd Priam". Cf. 2 'Henry IV', Act I, Sc. 1:-- + + Even such a man, so faint, so spiritless, + So dull, so dead in look, so woe-begone, + Drew Priam's curtain in the dead of night. + And would have told him half his Troy was burnt. + +l. 120. ----- + "sicken'd over by learning". Cf. 'Hamlet', Act iii, + Sc. 1: + + And thus the native hue of resolution + Is 'sicklied o'er' with the pale cast of thought. + + Notwithstanding the condemnation of Shakespeare in the 'Present + State of Polite Learning', and elsewhere, Goldsmith frequently + weaves Shakespearean recollections into his work. Cf. 'She + Stoops to Conquer', 1773, Act i, p. 13, 'We wanted no ghost to + tell us that' ('Hamlet', Act i, Sc. 5); and Act i, p. 9, where + he uses Falstaff's words (1 'Henry IV', Act v, Sc. 1):-- + + Would it were bed-time and all were well. + +l. 121. ----- + "as very well known". The first version has, + + ''tis very well known.' + + + + + + + +EPITAPH ON THOMAS PARNELL. + +This epitaph, apparently never used, was published with 'The Haunch of +Venison', 1776; and is supposed to have been written about 1770. In that +year Goldsmith wrote a 'Life of Thomas Parnell, D.D.', to accompany an +edition of his poems, printed for Davies of Russell Street. Parnell was +born in 1679, and died at Chester in 1718, on his way to Ireland. He was +buried at Trinity Church in that town, on the 24th of October. Goldsmith +says that his father and uncle both knew Parnell ('Life of Parnell', +1770, p. v), and that he received assistance from the poet's nephew, Sir +John Parnell, the singing gentleman who figures in Hogarth's 'Election +Entertainment'. Why Goldsmith should write an epitaph upon a man who +died ten years before his own birth, is not easy to explain. But Johnson +also wrote a Latin one, which he gave to Boswell. (Birkbeck Hill's +'Life', 1887, iv. 54.) + +l. 1. ----- + "gentle Parnell's Name". Mitford compares Pope on + Parnell ['Epistle to Harley', 1. iv]:-- + + With softest manners, gentlest Arts adorn'd. + + Pope published Parnell's 'Poems' in 1722, and his sending them + to Harley, Earl of Oxford, after the latter's disgrace and + retirement, was the occasion of the foregoing epistle, from + which the following lines respecting Parnell may also be cited:-- + + For him, thou oft hast bid the World attend, + Fond to forget the statesman in the friend; + For SWIFT and him despis'd the farce of state, + The sober follies of the wise and great; + Dext'rous the craving, fawning crowd to quit, + And pleas'd to 'scape from Flattery to Wit. + +l. 3. ----- + "his sweetly-moral lay". Cf. 'The Hermit', the 'Hymn to + Contentment', the 'Night Piece on Death' -- which Goldsmith + certainly recalled in his own 'City Night-Piece'. Of the + last-named Goldsmith says ('Life of Parnell', 1770, p. xxxii), + not without an obvious side-stroke at Gray's too-popular + 'Elegy', that it 'deserves every praise, and I should suppose + with very little amendment, might be made to surpass all those + night pieces and church yard scenes that have since appeared.' + This is certainly (as Longfellow sings) to + + .....rustling hear in every breeze + The laurels of Miltiades. + + Of Parnell, Hume wrote ('Essays', 1770, i. 244) that 'after the + fiftieth reading; [he] is as fresh as at the first.' But Gray + (speaking -- it should be explained -- of a dubious volume of + his posthumous works) said: 'Parnell is the dung-hill of Irish + Grub Street' (Gosse's Gray's 'Works', 1884, ii. 372). Meanwhile, + it is his fate to-day to be mainly remembered by three words + (not always attributed to him) in a couplet from what Johnson + styled 'perhaps the meanest' of his performances, the 'Elegy -- + to an Old Beauty':-- + + And all that's madly wild, or oddly gay, + We call it only 'pretty Fanny's way'. + + + + + + + +THE CLOWN'S REPLY. + +This, though dated 'Edinburgh 1753,' was first printed in 'Poems +and Plays', 1777, p. 79. + +l. 1. ----- + "John Trott" is a name for a clown or commonplace + character. Miss Burney ('Diary', 1904, i. 222) says of Dr. + Delap:-- 'As to his person and appearance, they are much in the + 'John-trot' style.' Foote, Chesterfield, and Walpole use the + phrase; Fielding Scotticizes it into 'John Trott-Plaid, Esq.'; + and Bolingbroke employs it as a pseudonym. + +l. 6. ----- + "I shall ne'er see your graces". 'I shall never see a + Goose again without thinking on Mr. 'Neverout',' -- says the + 'brilliant Miss Notable' in Swift's 'Polite Conversation', 1738, + p. 156. + + + + + + + +EPITAPH ON EDWARD PURDON. + +The occasion of this quatrain, first published as Goldsmith's* in 'Poems +and Plays', 1777, p. 79, is to be found in Forster's 'Life and Times of +Oliver Goldsmith', 1871, ii. 60. Purdon died on March 27, 1767 +('Gentleman's Magazine', April, 1767, p. 192). '"Dr. Goldsmith made this +epitaph," says William Ballantyne [the author of 'Mackliniana'], "in his +way from his chambers in the Temple to the Wednesday evening's club at +the Globe. 'I think he will never come back', I believe he said. I was +sitting by him, and he repeated it more than twice. 'I think he will +never come back."' Purdon had been at Trinity College, Dublin, with +Goldsmith; he had subsequently been a foot soldier; ultimately he became +a 'bookseller's hack.' He wrote an anonymous letter to Garrick in 1759, +and translated the 'Henriade' of Voltaire. This translation Goldsmith is +supposed to have revised, and his own life of Voltaire was to have +accompanied it, though finally the Memoir and Translation seem to have +appeared separately. (Cf. prefatory note to 'Memoirs of M. de Voltaire' +in Gibbs's 'Works of Oliver Goldsmith', 1885, iv. 2.) + +[footnote] *It had previously appeared as an extempore by a +correspondent in the 'Weekly Magazine', Edin., August 12, 1773 ('Notes +and Queries', February 14, 1880). + +Forster says further, in a note, 'The original...is the epitaph on "La +Mort du Sieur Etienne":-- + + Il est au bout de ses travaux, + Il a passe, le Sieur Etienne; + En ce monde il eut tant des maux + Qu'on ne croit pas qu'il revienne. + +With this perhaps Goldsmith was familiar, and had therefore less scruple +in laying felonious hands on the epigram in the 'Miscellanies' (Swift, +xiii. 372):-- + + Well, then, poor G___ lies underground! + So there's an end of honest Jack. + So little justice here he found, + 'Tis ten to one he'll ne'er come back.' + +Mr. Forster's 'felonious hands' recalls a passage in Goldsmith's 'Life +of Parnell', 1770, in which, although himself an habitual sinner in this +way, he comments gravely upon the practice of plagiarism:-- 'It was the +fashion with the wits of the last age, to conceal the places from whence +they took their hints or their subjects. A trifling acknowledgment would +have made that lawful prize, which may now be considered as plunder' (p. +xxxii). + + + + + + + +EPILOGUE FOR LEE LEWES'S BENEFIT. + +This benefit took place at Covent Garden on May 7, 1773, the pieces +performed being Rowe's 'Lady Jane Grey', and a popular pantomimic +after-piece by Theobald, called 'Harlequin Sorcerer', Charles Lee Lewes +(1740-1803) was the original 'Young Marlow' of 'She Stoops to Conquer'. +When that part was thrown up by 'Gentleman' Smith, Shuter, the 'Mr. +Hardcastle' of the comedy, suggested Lewes, who was the harlequin of the +theatre, as a substitute, and the choice proved an admirable one. +Goldsmith was highly pleased with his performance, and in consequence +wrote for him this epilogue. It was first printed by Evans, 1780, i. +112-4. + +l. 9. ----- + "in thy black aspect", i.e. the half-mask of harlequin, + in which character the Epilogue was spoken. + +l. 18. ----- + "rosined lightning", stage-lightning, in which rosin is + an ingredient. + + + + + + + +EPILOGUE INTENDED FOR 'SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER.' + +This epilogue was first printed at pp. 82-6, vol. ii, of the +'Miscellaneous Works of' 1801. Bolton Corney says it had been given to +Percy by Goldsmith. It is evidently the 'quarrelling Epilogue' referred +to in the following letter from Goldsmith to Cradock ('Miscellaneous +Memoirs', 1826, i. 225-6):-- + +'MY DEAR SIR, +The Play ['She Stoops to Conquer'] has met with a success much beyond +your expectations or mine. I thank you sincerely for your Epilogue, +which, however could not be used, but with your permission, shall be +printed*. The story in short is this; Murphy sent me rather the outline +of an Epilogue than an Epilogue, which was to be sung by Mrs. Catley, +and which she approved. Mrs. Bulkley hearing this, insisted on throwing +up her part, unless according to the custom of the theatre, she were +permitted to speak the Epilogue. In this embarrassment I thought of +making a quarrelling Epilogue between Catley and her, debating who +should speak the Epilogue, but then Mrs. Catley refused, after I had +taken the trouble of drawing it out. I was then at a loss indeed; an +Epilogue was to be made, and for none but Mrs. Bulkley. I made one, and +Colman thought it too bad to be spoken; I was obliged therefore to try a +fourth time, and I made a very mawkish thing, as you'll shortly see. +Such is the history of my Stage adventures, and which I have at last +done with. I cannot help saying that I am very sick of the stage; and +though I believe I shall get three tolerable benefits, yet I shall upon +the whole be a loser, even in a pecuniary light; my ease and comfort I +certainly lost while it was in agitation. + +I am, my dear Cradock, +Your obliged, and obedient servant, +OLIVER GOLDSMITH +P.S. -- Present my most humble respects to Mrs. Cradock.' + +[footnote] *It is so printed with the note -- 'This came too late to be +Spoken.' + +According to Prior ('Miscellaneous Works', 1837, iv. 154), Goldsmith's +friend, Dr. Farr, had a copy of this epilogue which still, when Prior +wrote, remained in that gentleman's family. + +l. 21. ----- + "Who mump their passion", i.e. grimace their passion. + +l. 31. ----- + "ye macaroni train". The Macaronies were the foplings, + fribbles, or beaux of Goldsmith's day. Walpole refers to them as + early as 1764; but their flourishing time was 1770-3, when the + print-shops, and especially Matthew Darly's in the Strand, No. + 39, swarmed with satirical designs of which they were the + subject. Selwyn, March -- many well-known names -- are found in + their ranks. Richard Cosway figured as 'The Macaroni Painter'; + Angelica Kauffmann as 'The Paintress of Maccaroni's'; Thrale as + 'The Southwark Macaroni.' Another caricature ('The Fluttering + Macaroni') contains a portrait of Miss Catley, the singing + actress of the present epilogue; while Charles Horneck, the + brother of 'The Jessamy Bride' (see p. 251, l. 14) is twice + satirized as 'The Martial Macaroni' and 'The Military Macaroni.' + The name, as may be guessed, comes from the Italian dish first + made fashionable by the 'Macaroni Club,' being afterwards + applied by extension to 'the younger and gayer part of our + nobility and gentry, who, at the same time that they gave in to + the luxuries of eating, went equally into the extravagancies of + dress.' ('Macaroni and Theatrical Magazine', Oct. 1772.) Cf. Sir + Benjamin Backbite's later epigram in 'The School for Scandal', + 1777, Act ii, Sc. 2:-- + + Sure never was seen two such beautiful ponies; + Other horses are clowns, but these 'macaronies': + To give them this title I'm sure can't be wrong, + Their legs are so slim and their tails are so long. + +l. 36. ----- + "Their hands are only lent to the Heinel". See note to + l. 28, p. 85. + + + + + + + +EPILOGUE INTENDED FOR 'SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER.' + +This epilogue, given by Goldsmith to Dr. Percy in MS., was first +published in the 'Miscellaneous Works' of 1801, ii. 87-8, as 'An +Epilogue intended for Mrs. Bulkley'. Percy did not remember for what +play it was intended; but it is plainly (see note to l. 40) the second +epilogue for 'She Stoops to Conquer' referred to in the letter printed +in this volume. + +l. 1. ----- + "There is a place, so Ariosto sings". 'The poet + alludes to the thirty-fourth canto of 'The Orlando furioso'. + Ariosto, as translated by Mr. Stewart Rose, observes of the + 'lunar world'; + + There thou wilt find, if thou wilt thither post, + Whatever thou on earth beneath hast lost. + + Astolpho undertakes the journey; discovers a portion of his + own sense; and, in an ample flask, the lost wits of Orlando.' + (Bolton Corney.) Cf. also 'Rape of the Lock', + Canto v, ll. 113-14: + + Some thought it mounted to the Lunar sphere, + Since all things lost on earth are treasur'd there. + + Lord Chesterfield also refers to the 'happy extravagancy' + of Astolpho's journey in his 'Letters', 1774, i. 557. + +l. 9. ----- + "at Foote's Alone". 'Foote's' was the Little Theatre in + the Haymarket, where, in February, 1773, he brought out what he + described as a 'Primitive Puppet Show,' based upon the Italian + Fantoccini, and presenting a burlesque sentimental Comedy called + 'The Handsome Housemaid; or, Piety in Pattens', which did as + much as 'She Stoops' to laugh false sentiment away. Foote warned + his audience that they would not discover 'much wit or humour' + in the piece, since 'his brother writers had all agreed that it + was highly improper, and beneath the dignity of a mixed + assembly, to show any signs of joyful satisfaction; and that + creating a laugh was forcing the higher order of an audience to + a vulgar and mean use of their muscles' -- for which reason, he + explained, he had, like them, given up the sensual for the + sentimental style. And thereupon followed the story of a maid of + low degree who, 'by the mere effects of morality and virtue, + raised herself [like Richardson's 'Pamela'], to riches and + honours.' The public, who for some time had acquiesced in the + new order of things under the belief that it tended to the + reformation of the stage, and who were beginning to weary of the + 'moral essay thrown into dialogue,' which had for some time + supplanted humorous situation, promptly came round under the + influence of Foote's Aristophanic ridicule, and the 'comedie + larmoyante' received an appreciable check. Goldsmith himself had + prepared the way in a paper contributed to the 'Westminster + Magazine' for December, 1772 (vol. I. p. 4), with the title of + 'An Essay on the Theatre; or, A Comparison between Laughing and + Sentimental Comedy.' The specific reference in the Prologue is + to the fact that Foote gave morning performances of 'The + Handsome Housemaid'. There was one, for instance, on Saturday, + March 6, 1773. + +l. 27. ----- + "The Mohawk". This particular species of the genus + 'rake' belongs more to Swift's than Goldsmith's time, though the + race is eternal. There is an account of the 'Mohock Club' in + 'Spectator', No. 324. See also 'Spectator', No. 347; Gay's + 'Trivia', 1716, Book iii. p. 74; Swift's 'Journal to Stella', + March 8 and 26, 1712; and the 'Wentworth Papers', 1883, pp. + 277-8. + +l. 40. ----- + "Still stoops among the low to copy nature". This line, + one would think, should have helped to convince Percy that the + epilogue was intended for 'She Stoops to Conquer', and for no + other play. + + + + + + +THE CAPTIVITY. + +The Oratorio of the 'Captivity' was written in 1764; but never set to +music. It was first printed in 1820 at pp. 451-70 of vol. ii of the +octavo edition of the 'Miscellaneous Works' issued by the trade in that +year. Prior reprinted it in 1837 ('Works', iv. Pp. 79-95) from the +'original manuscript' in Mr. Murray's possession; and Cunningham again +in 1854 ('Works', i. pp. 63-76). It is here reproduced from Prior. James +Dodsley, who bought the MS. for Newbery and himself, gave Goldsmith ten +guineas. Murray's copy was the one made for Dodsley, October 31, 1764; +the one printed in 1820, that made for Newbery. The latter, which once +belonged to the autograph collector, William Upcott, was in the market +in 1887. + +l. 23. ----- + Act i. This song had been published in the first + edition of 'The Haunch of Venison', 1776, with the second stanza + varied thus:-- + + Thou, like the world, th' opprest oppressing, + Thy smiles increase the wretch's woe' + And he who wants each other blessing, + In thee must ever find a foe. + +l. 33. ----- + Act ii. This song also had appeared in the first edition + of 'The Haunch of Venison', 1776, in a different form:-- + + The Wretch condemn'd with life to part, + Still, still on Hope relies; + And ev'ry pang that rends the heart, + Bids Expectation rise. + + Hope, like the glim'ring taper's light, + Adorns and chears the way; + And still, as darker grows the night, + Emits a brighter ray. + + Mitford, who printed 'The Captivity' from Newbery's version, + records a number of 'first thoughts' afterwards altered or + improved by the author in his MS. Modern editors have not + reproduced them, and their example has been followed here. 'The + Captivity' is not, in any sense, one of Goldsmith's important + efforts. + + + + + + + +VERSES IN REPLY TO AN INVITATION TO DINNER. + +These were first published in the 'Miscellaneous Works' of 1837, iv. +132-3, having been communicated to the editor by Major-General Sir H. E. +Bunbury, Bart., the son of Henry William Bunbury, the well-known comic +artist, and husband of Catherine Horneck, the 'Little Comedy' to whom +Goldsmith refers. Dr. Baker, to whose house the poet was invited, was +Dr. (afterwards Sir George) Baker, 1722-1809. He was Sir Joshua's +doctor; and in 1776 became physician to George III, whom he attended +during his illness of 1788-9. He is often mentioned by Fanny Burney and +Hannah More. + +l. 11. ----- + "Horneck", i.e. Mrs. Hannah Horneck -- the 'Plymouth + Beauty' -- widow of Captain Kane William Horneck, grandson of + Dr. Anthony Horneck of the Savoy, mentioned in Evelyn's 'Diary', + for whose 'Happy Ascetick', 1724, Hogarth designed a + frontispiece. Mrs. Horneck died in 1803. Like Sir Joshua, the + Hornecks came from Devonshire; and through him, had made the + acquaintance of Goldsmith. + + "Nesbitt". Mr. Nesbitt was the husband of one of Mr. Thrale's + handsome sisters. He was a member of the Devonshire Club, and + twice (1759-61) sat to Reynolds, with whom he was intimate. He + died in 1779, and his widow married a Mr. Scott. + +l. 13. ----- + "Kauffmann". Angelica Kauffmann, the artist, 1741-1807. + She had come to London in 1766. At the close of 1767 she had + been cajoled into a marriage with an impostor, Count de Horn, + and had separated from him in 1768. In 1769 she painted a 'weak + and uncharacteristic' portrait of Reynolds for Mr. Parker of + Saltram (afterwards Baron Boringdon), which is now in the + possession of the Earl of Morley. It was exhibited at the Royal + Academy in the winter of 1876, and is the portrait referred to + at l. 44 below. + +l. 14. ----- + "the Jessamy Bride". This was Goldsmith's pet-name for + Mary, the elder Miss Horneck. After Goldsmith's death she + married Colonel F. E. Gwyn (1779). She survived until 1840. 'Her + own picture with a turban,' painted by Reynolds, was left to her + in his will ('Works' by Malone, 2nd ed., 1798, p. cxviii). She + was also painted by Romney and Hoppner. 'Jessamy,' or 'jessimy,' + with its suggestion of jasmine flowers, seems in + eighteenth-century parlance to have stood for 'dandified,' + 'superfine,' 'delicate,' and the whole name was probably coined + after the model of some of the titles to Darly's prints, then + common in all the shops. + +l. 16. ----- + "The Reynoldses two", i.e. Sir Joshua and his sister, + Miss Reynolds. + +l. 17. ----- + "Little Comedy's face". 'Little Comedy' was Goldsmith's + name for the younger Miss Horneck, Catherine, and already + engaged to H. W. Bunbury ('v. supra'), to whom she was married + in 1771. She died in 1799, and had also been painted by + Reynolds. + +l. 18. ----- + "the Captain in lace". This was Charles Horneck, Mrs. + Horneck's son, an officer in the Foot-guards. He afterwards + became a general, and died in 1804. (See note, p. 247, l. 31.) + +l. 44. ----- + "to-day's Advertiser". The lines referred to are said + by Prior to have been as follows:-- + + While fair Angelica, with matchless grace, + Paints Conway's lovely form and Stanhope's face; + Our hearts to beauty willing homage pay, + We praise, admire, and gaze our souls away. + But when the likeness she hath done for thee, + O Reynolds! with astonishment we see, + Forced to submit, with all our pride we own, + Such strength, such harmony, excell'd by none, + And thou art rivall'd by thyself alone. + + They probably appeared in the newspaper at some date between + 1769, when the picture was painted, and August 1771, when + 'Little Comedy' was married, after which time Goldsmith would + scarcely speak of her except as 'Mrs. Bunbury' (see p. 132, l. + 15). + + + + + + + +LETTER IN PROSE AND VERSE TO MRS. BUNBURY. + +This letter, which contains some of the brightest and easiest of +Goldsmith's familiar verses, was addressed to Mrs. Bunbury (the 'Little +Comedy' of the 'Verses in Reply to an Invitation to Dinner', pp. 250-2), +in answer to a rhymed summons on her part to spend Christmas at Great +Barton in Suffolk, the family seat of the Bunburys. It was first printed +by Prior in the 'Miscellaneous Works' of 1837, iv. 148-51, and again in +1838 in Sir Henry Bunbury's 'Correspondence of Sir Thomas Hanmer, +Bart.', pp. 379-83. The text of the latter issue is here followed. When +Prior published the verses, they were assigned to the year 1772; in the +'Hanmer Correspondence' it is stated that they were 'probably written in +1773 or 1774.' + +P. 130. ----- + "your spring velvet coat". Goldsmith's pronounced + taste in dress, and his good-natured simplicity, made his + costume a fertile subject for playful raillery, -- sometimes, + for rather discreditable practical jokes. (See next note.) + +P. 131. ----- + "a wig, that is modish and gay". 'He always wore a + wig' -- said the 'Jessamy Bride' in her reminiscences to Prior + -- 'a peculiarity which those who judge of his appearance only + from the fine poetical head of Reynolds, would not suspect; and + on one occasion some person contrived to seriously injure this + important adjunct to dress. It was the only one he had in the + country, and the misfortune seemed irreparable until the + services of Mr. Bunbury's valet were called in, who however + performed his functions so indifferently that poor Goldsmith's + appearance became the signal for a general smile' (Prior's + 'Life', 1837, ii. 378-9). + +P. 131. ----- + "Naso contemnere adunco". Cf. Horace, 'Sat'. i. 6. 5:-- + + naso suspendis adunco + Ignotos, + + and Martial, 'Ep'. i. 4. 6:-- + Et pueri nasum Rhinocerotis habent. + +l. 2. ----- + "Loo", i.e. Lanctre- or Lanterloo, a popular + eighteenth-century game, in which 'Pam', l. 6, the knave of + clubs, is the highest card. Cf. Pope, 'Rape of the Lock', 1714, + iii. 61:-- + + Ev'n might 'Pam', that Kings and Queens o'erthrew, + And mow'd down armies in the fights of Lu; + and Colman's epilogue to 'The School for Scandal', 1777:-- + And at backgammon mortify my soul, + That pants for 'loo', or flutters at a vole? + +l. 17. ----- + "Miss Horneck". Miss Mary Horneck, the 'Jessamy Bride' + ('vide' note, p. 251, l. 14). + +l. 36. ----- + "Fielding". Sir John Fielding, d. 1780, Henry + Fielding's blind half-brother, who succeeded him as a Justice of + the Peace for the City and Liberties of Westminster. He was + knighted in 1761. There are two portraits of him by Nathaniel + Hone. + +l. 40. ----- + "by quinto Elizabeth, Death without Clergy". Legal + authorities affirm that the Act quoted should be 8 Eliz. cap. + iv, under which those who stole more than twelvepence 'privately + from a man's person' were debarred from benefit of clergy. But + 'quint. Eliz.' must have offered some special attraction to + poets, since Pope also refers to it in the 'Satires and + Epistles', i. 147-8:-- + Consult the Statute: 'quart'. I think, it is, + 'Edwardi sext.' or 'prim. et quint. Eliz.' + +l. 44. ----- + "With bunches of fennel, and nosegays before 'em". This + was a custom dating from the fearful jail fever of 1750, which + carried off, not only prisoners, but a judge (Mr. Justice Abney) + 'and many jurymen and witnesses.' 'From that time up to this day + [i.e. 1855] it has been usual to place sweet-smelling herbs in + the prisoner's dock, to prevent infection.' (Lawrence's 'Life of + Henry Fielding', 1855, p. 296.) The close observation of + Cruikshank has not neglected this detail in the Old Bailey plate + of 'The Drunkard's Children', 1848, v. + +l. 45. ----- + "mobs". The mob was a loose undress or 'deshabille', + sometimes a hood. 'When we poor souls had presented ourselves + with a contrition suitable to our worthlessness, some pretty + young ladies in 'mobs', popped in here and there about the + church.' ('Guardian', No. 65, May 26, 1713.) Cf. also Addison's + 'Fine Lady's Diary' ('Spectator', No. 323); 'Went in our 'Mobbs' + to the Dumb Man' (Duncan Campbell). + +l. 50. ----- + "yon solemn-faced". Cf. 'Introduction', p. xxvii. + According to the 'Jessamy Bride,' Goldsmith sometimes aggravated + his plainness by an 'assumed frown of countenance' (Prior, + 'Life', 1837, ii. 379). + +l. 55. ----- + "Sir Charles", i.e. Sir Thomas Charles Bunbury, Bart., + M. P., Henry Bunbury's elder brother. He succeeded to the title + in 1764, and died without issue in 1821. Goldsmith, it may be + observed, makes 'Charles' a disyllable. Probably, like many of + his countrymen, he so pronounced it. (Cf. Thackeray's + 'Pendennis', 1850, vol. ii, chap. 5 [or xliii], where this is + humorously illustrated in Captain Costigan's 'Sir 'Chorlus', I + saw your neem at the Levee.' Perhaps this accounts for 'failing' + and 'stealing,' -- 'day on' and 'Pantheon,' in the 'New Simile'. + Cooke ('European Magazine', October, 1793, p. 259) says that + Goldsmith 'rather cultivated (than endeavoured to get rid of) + his brogue.' + +l. 58. ----- + "dy'd in grain", i.e. fixed, ineradicable. To 'dye in + grain' means primarily to colour with the scarlet or purple dye + produced by the 'kermes' insect, called 'granum' in Latin, from + its similarity to small seeds. Being what is styled a 'fast' dye + the phrase is used by extension to signify permanence. + + + + + + + +VIDA'S GAME OF CHESS. + +Forster thus describes the MS. of this poem in his 'Life of Goldsmith': +-- 'It is a small quarto manuscript of thirty-four pages, containing 679 +lines, to which a fly-leaf is appended in which Goldsmith notes the +differences of nomenclature between Vida's chessmen and our own. It has +occasional interlineations and corrections, but such as would occur in +transcription rather than in a first or original copy. Sometimes indeed +choice appears to have been made (as at page 29) between two words +equally suitable to the sense and verse, as "to" for "toward"; but the +insertions and erasures refer almost wholly to words or lines +accidentally omitted and replaced. The triplet is always carefully +marked; and seldom as it is found in any other of Goldsmith's poems. I +am disposed to regard its frequent recurrence here as even helping, in +some degree, to explain the motive which had led him to the trial of an +experiment in rhyme comparatively new to him. If we suppose him, half +consciously, it may be, taking up the manner of the great master of +translation, Dryden, who was at all times so much a favourite with him, +he would at least, in so marked a peculiarity, be less apt to fall short +than to err perhaps a little on the side of excess. Though I am far from +thinking such to be the result in the present instance. The effect of +the whole translation is pleasing to me, and the mock-heroic effect I +think not a little assisted by the reiterated use of the triplet and +alexandrine. As to any evidence of authorship derivable from the +appearance of the manuscript, I will only add another word. The lines in +the translation have been carefully counted, and the number is marked in +Goldsmith's hand at the close of his transcription. Such a fact is, of +course, only to be taken in aid of other proof; but a man is not +generally at the pains of counting, still less, I should say in such a +case as Goldsmith's, of elaborately transcribing, lines which are not +his own.' (Forster's 'Goldsmith', 1871, ii. 235-6). + +When Forster wrote the above, the MS. was in the possession of Mr. +Bolton Corney, who had not been aware of its existence when he edited +Goldsmith's Poems in 1845. In 1854 it was, with his permission, included +in vol. iv of Cunningham's 'Works' of 1854, and subsequently in the +Aldine 'Poems' of 1866. + +Mark Jerome Vida of Cremona, 1490-1566, was Bishop of Alba, and +favourite of Leo the Magnificent. Several translators had tried their +hand at his 'Game of Chess' before Goldsmith. Lowndes mentions +Rowbotham, 1562; Jeffreys, 1736; Erskine, 1736; Pullin, 1750; and +'Anon'. (Eton), 1769 (who may have preceded Goldsmith). But after his +(Goldsmith's) death appeared another Oxford anonymous version, 1778, and +one by Arthur Murphy, 1786. + + + + + + + +APPENDIXES + +A. PORTRAITS OF GOLDSMITH. +B. DESCRIPTIONS OF NEWELL'S VIEWS OF LISSOY, ETC. +C. THE EPITHET 'SENTIMENTAL.' +D. FRAGMENTS OF TRANSLATIONS, ETC. BY GOLDSMITH. +E. GOLDSMITH ON POETRY UNDER ANNE AND GEORGE THE FIRST. +F. CRITICISMS FROM GOLDSMITH'S 'BEAUTIES OF ENGLISH POESY.' + + + +APPENDIX A + +PORTRAITS OF GOLDSMITH. + +PORTRAITS of Goldsmith are not numerous; and the best known are those of +Reynolds and H. W. Bunbury. That by Sir Joshua was painted in 1766-70, +and exhibited in the Royal Academy (No. 151) from April 24th to May 28th +in the latter year. It represents the poet in a plain white collar, +furred mantle open at the neck, and holding a book in his right hand. +Its general characteristics are given at p. xxviii of the +'Introduction.' It was scraped in mezzotint in 1770 by Reynolds's +Italian pupil, Giuseppe, or Joseph Marchi; and it is dated 1st +December.* Bunbury's portrait first appeared, after Goldsmith's death, +as a frontispiece to the 'Haunch of Venison'; and it was etched in +facsimile by James Bretherton. The plate is dated May 24, 1776. In his +loyal but despotic 'Life of Goldsmith' (Bk. iv, ch. 6), Mr. John Forster +reproduces these portraits side by side; in order, he professes, to show +'the distinction between truth and a caricature of it.' Bunbury, it may +be, was primarily a caricaturist, and possibly looked at most things +from a more or less grotesque point of view; but this sketch -- it +should be observed -- was meant for a likeness, and we have the express +testimony of one who, if she was Bunbury's sister-in-law, was also +Goldsmith's friend, that it rendered Goldsmith accurately. It 'gives the +head with admirable fidelity' -- says the 'Jessamy Bride' (afterwards +Mrs. Gwyn) -- 'as he actually lived among us; nothing can exceed its +truth' (Prior's 'Life', 1837, ii. 380). In other words, it delineates +Goldsmith as his contemporaries saw him, with bulbous forehead, +indecisive chin, and long protruding upper lip, -- awkward, +insignificant, ill at ease, -- restlessly burning 'to get in and shine.' +It enables us moreover to understand how people who knew nothing of his +better and more lovable qualities, could speak of him as an 'inspired +idiot,' as 'silly Dr. Goldsmith,' as 'talking like poor Poll.' It is, in +short, his external, objective presentment. The picture by Sir Joshua, +on the contrary, is almost wholly subjective. Draped judiciously in a +popular studio costume, which is not that of the sitter's day, it +reveals to us the author of 'The Deserted Village' as Reynolds conceived +him to be at his best, serious, dignified, introspective, with his +physical defects partly extenuated by art, partly over-mastered by his +intellectual power. To quote the 'Jessamy Bride' once more -- it is 'a +fine poetical head for the admiration of posterity, but as it is +divested of his wig and with the shirt collar open, it was not the man +as seen in daily life' ('Ib'. ii. 380). Had Goldsmith lived in our era +of photography, photography would doubtless have given us something +which would have been neither the one nor the other, but more like +Bunbury than Reynolds. Yet we may be grateful for both. For Bunbury's +sketch and Reynolds's portrait are alike indispensable to the true +comprehension of Goldsmith's curiously dual personality.** + +[footnote]* This was the print to which Goldsmith referred in a +well-known anecdote. Speaking to his old Peckham pupil, Samuel Bishop, +whom, after many years, he met accidentally in London, he asked him +eagerly whether he had got an engraving of the new portrait, and finding +he had not, 'said with some emotion, "if your picture had been +published, I should not have suffered an hour to elapse without +procuring it."' But he was speedily 'appeased by apologies.' (Prior's +'Life', 1837, i. 219-20.) + +[footnote]** There is in existence another undated etching by Bretherton +after Bunbury on a larger scale, which comes much nearer to Reynolds; +and it is of course possible, though not in our opinion probable, that +Mrs. Gwyn may have referred to this. But Forster selected the other for +his comparison; it is prefixed to the 'Haunch of Venison'; it is +certainly the better known; and (as we believe) cannot ever have been +intended for a caricature. + +The portrait by Reynolds, above referred to, was painted for the Thrale +Gallery at Streatham, on the dispersion of which, in May, 1816, it was +bought for the Duke of Bedford for 133 pounds 7s. It is now at Woburn +Abbey (Cat. No. 254). At Knole, Lord Sackville possesses another version +(Cat. No. 239), which was purchased in 1773 by the Countess Delawarr, +and was shown at South Kensington in 1867. Here the dress is a black +coat and a brown mantle with fur. The present owner exhibited it at the +Guelph Exhibition of 1891. A third version, now in the Irish National +Gallery, once belonged to Goldsmith himself, and then to his +brother-in-law, Daniel Hodson. Finally there is a copy, by a pupil of +Reynolds, in the National Portrait Gallery, to which it was bequeathed +in 1890 by Dr. Leifchild, having formerly been the property of Caleb +Whitefoord. Caleb Whitefoord also had an 'admirable miniature' by +Reynolds, which belongs to the Rev. Benjamin Whitefoord, Hon. Canon of +Salisbury ('Whitefoord Papers', 1898, p. xxvii). A small circular print, +based upon Reynolds, and etched by James Basire, figures on the +title-page of 'Retaliation'. Some of the plates are dated April 18, +1774.* The National Portrait Gallery has also a silhouette, attributed +to Ozias Humphry, R.A., which was presented in 1883 by Sir Theodore +Martin, K.C.B. Then there is the portrait by Hogarth shown at South +Kensington in 1867 by the late Mr. Studley Martin of Liverpool. It +depicts the poet writing at a round table in a black cap, +claret-coloured coat and ruffles. Of this there is a wood-cut in the +later editions of Forster's 'Life' (Bk. iii, ch. 14). The same +exhibition of 1867 contained a portrait of Goldsmith in a brown coat and +red waistcoat, 'as a young man.' It was said to be extremely like him in +face, and was attributed to Gainsborough. In Evans's edition of the +'Poetical and Dramatic Works' is another portrait engraved by Cook, +said, on some copies, to be 'from an original drawing'; and there is in +the Print Room at the British Museum yet another portrait still, +engraved by William Ridley 'from a painting in the possession of the +Rev. Mr. Williams,' no doubt Goldsmith's friend, the Rev. David +Williams, founder of the Royal Literary Fund. One of these last may have +been the work to which the poet refers in a letter to his brother +Maurice in January, 1770. 'I have sent my cousin Jenny [Jane Contarine] +a miniature picture of myself...The face you well know, is ugly enough, +but it is finely painted' ('Misc. Works', 1801, p. 88). + +[footnote]* There is also a sketch by Reynolds (?) at the British +Museum. + +In front of Dublin University is a bronze statue of Goldsmith by J. H. +Foley, R.A., erected in 1864.* Of this there is a good engraving by G. +Stodart. On the memorial in Westminster Abbey erected in 1776 is a +medallion by Joseph Nollekens. + +[footnote]* Goldsmith's traditional ill-luck pursued him after death. +During some public procession in front of Trinity College, a number of +undergraduates climbed on the statue, with the result that the thin +metal of the poet's head was flattened or crushed in, requiring for its +readjustment very skilful restorative treatment. The Editor is indebted +for this item of information to the kindness of Mr. Percy Fitzgerald, +who was present at the subsequent operation. + + + + + + +APPENDIX B + +DESCRIPTIONS OF NEWELL'S VIEWS OF LISSOY, ETC. + +In 1811, the Rev. R. H. Newell, B.D. and Fellow of St. John's College, +Cambridge, issued an edition of the 'Poetical Works' of Goldsmith. The +distinctive feature of this lay in the fact that it was illustrated by a +number of aquatints 'by Mr. Alkin' (i.e. Samuel Alken), after drawings +made by Newell in 1806-9, and was accompanied by a series of 'Remarks, +attempting to ascertain, chiefly from local observation, the actual +scene of 'The Deserted Village'.' Some quotations from these 'Remarks' +have already been made in the foregoing notes; but as copies of six of +the drawings are given in this volume, it may be well, in each case, to +reproduce Newell's 'descriptions.' + + +LISHOY, OR LISSOY MILL. + +The west end of it, as seen from a field near the road; to the north the +country slopes away in coarsely cultivated enclosures, and the distance +eastward is bounded by the Longford hills. The stream ran from the south +side of the mill (where it is still of some width though nearly choked +up), and fell over the once busy wheel, into a deep channel, now +overgrown with weeds. Neglect and poverty appear all around. The farm +house and barn-like buildings, which fill up the sketch, seem to have no +circumstances of interest attached to them (p. 83). + + + +KILKENNY WEST CHURCH. + +This south-west view was taken from the road, which passes by the +church, towards Lishoy, and overlooks the adjacent country to the west. +The church appears neat, its exterior having been lately repaired. The +tree added to the foreground is the only liberty taken with the subject +(p. 83). + + +HAWTHORN TREE. + +An east view of the tree, as it stood in August, 1806. The Athlone road +occupies the centre of the sketch, winding round the stone wall to the +right, into the village, and to the left leading toward the church. The +cottage and tree opposite the hawthorn, adjoin the present public-house; +the avenue before the parsonage tops the distant eminence (p. 84). + + +SOUTH VIEW FROM GOLDSMITH'S MOUNT. + +In this sketch 'the decent church,' at the top of the hill in the +distance, is an important object, from its exact correspondence with the +situation given it in the poem. Half-way up stands the solitary ruin of +Lord Dillon's castle. The hill in shadow, on the left, is above the +village, and is supposed to be alluded to in the line -- + +Up yonder hill the distant murmur rose. + +A flat of bogland extends from the narrow lake in the centre to the +mount on the right of the foreground (p. 84). + + +THE PARSONAGE. + +A south view from the Athlone road, which runs parallel with the stone +wall, and nearly east and west: the gateway is that mentioned in +Goldsmith's letter*, the mount being directly opposite, in a field +contiguous with the road. + +[footnote] *See note to l. 114 of 'The Deserted Village'. + +The ruinous stone wall in this and three other sketches, which is a +frequent sort of fence in the neighbourhood, gives a characteristic +propriety to the line (48) + +And the long grass o'ertops the mould'ring wall. +(pp. 84-5). + + +THE SCHOOL-HOUSE. + +This cottage is situated, as the poem describes it, by the road-side, +just where it forms a sharp angle by branching out from the village +eastward: at this point a south-west view was taken (p. 85). + +Newell's book was reissued in 1820; but no alterations were made in the +foregoing descriptions which, it must be borne in mind, refer to 1806-9. +His enthusiastic identifications will no doubt be taken by the reader +with the needful grain of salt. Goldsmith probably remembered the +hawthorn bush, the church upon the hill, the watercress gatherer, and +some other familiar objects of the 'seats of his youth.' But distance +added charm to the regretful retrospect; and in the details his fancy +played freely with his memories. It would be unwise, for example, to +infer -- as Mr. Hogan did -- the decorations of the 'Three Pidgeons' at +Lissoy from the account of the inn in the poem.* Some twelve years +before its publication, when he was living miserably in Green Arbour +Court, Goldsmith had submitted to his brother Henry a sample of a +heroi-comic poem describing a Grub Street writer in bed in 'a paltry +ale-house.' In this 'the sanded floor,' the 'twelve good rules' and the +broken tea-cups all played their parts as accessories, and even the +double-dealing chest had its prototype in the poet's night-cap, which +was 'a cap by night -- a stocking all the day.' A year or two later he +expanded these lines in the 'Citizen of the World', and the scene +becomes the Red Lion in Drury Lane. From this second version he adapted, +or extended again, the description of the inn parlour in 'The Deserted +Village'. It follows therefore, either that he borrowed for London the +details of a house in Ireland, or that he used for Ireland the details +of a house in London. If, on the other hand, it be contended that those +details were common to both places, then the identification in these +particulars of Auburn with Lissoy falls hopelessly to the ground. + +[footnote] *What follows is taken from the writer's 'Introduction' to +Mr. Edwin Abbey's illustrated edition of 'The Deserted Village', 1902, +p. ix.. + + + + + + + +APPENDIX C + + +THE EPITHET 'SENTIMENTAL.' + +Goldsmith's use of 'sentimental' in the 'prologue' to 'She Stoops to +Conquer' (p. 109, l. 36) -- the only occasion upon which he seems to +have employed it in his 'poems' -- affords an excuse for bringing +together one or two dispersed illustrations of the rise and growth of +this once highly-popular adjective, not as yet reached in the N. E. D. +Johnson, who must often have heard it, ignores it altogether; and in +Todd's edition of his 'Dictionary' (1818) it is expressly marked with a +star as one of the modern words which are 'not' to be found in the +Doctor's collection. According to Mr. Sidney Lee's admirable article in +the 'Dictionary of National Biography' on Sterne, that author is to be +regarded as the 'only begetter' of the epithet. Mr. Lee says that it +first occurs in a letter of 1740 written by the future author of +'Tristram Shandy' to the Miss Lumley he afterwards married. Here is the +precise and characteristic passage:-- 'I gave a thousand pensive, +penetrating looks at the chair thou hadst so often graced, in those +quiet and 'sentimental' repasts -- then laid down my knife and fork, and +took out my handkerchief, and clapped it across my face, and wept like a +child' (Sterne's 'Works' by Saintsbury, 1894, v. 25). Nine years later, +however circulated, 'sentimental' has grown 'so much in vogue' that it +has reached from London to the provinces. 'Mrs. Belfour' (Lady +Bradshaigh) writing from Lincolnshire to Richardson says:-- 'Pray, Sir, +give me leave to ask you...what, in your opinion, is the meaning of the +word 'sentimental', so much in vogue amongst the polite, both in town +and country? In letters and common conversation, I have asked several +who make use of it, and have generally received for answer, it is -- it +is -- 'sentimental'. Every thing clever and agreeable is comprehended in +that word; but [I] am convinced a wrong interpretation is given, because +it is impossible every thing clever and agreeable can be so common as +this word. I am frequently astonished to hear such a one is a +'sentimental' man; we were a 'sentimental' party; I have been taking a +'sentimental' walk. And that I might be reckoned a little in the +fashion, and, as I thought, show them the proper use of the word, about +six weeks ago, I declared I had just received a 'sentimental' letter. +Having often laughed at the word, and found fault with the application +of it, and this being the first time I ventured to make use of it, I was +loudly congratulated upon the occasion: but I should be glad to know +your interpretation of it' (Richardson's 'Correspondence', 1804, iv. pp. +282-3). The reply of the author of 'Clarissa', which would have been +interesting, is not given; but it is clear that by this date (1749) +'sentimental' must already have been rather overworked by 'the polite.' +Eleven years after this we meet with it in the Prologue to Colman's +'Dramatick Novel' of 'Polly Honeycombe'. 'And then,' he says, commenting +upon the fiction of the period, -- + + And then so 'sentimental' is the Stile, + So chaste, yet so bewitching all the while! + Plot, and elopement, passion, rape, and rapture, + The total sum of ev'ry dear -- dear -- Chapter. + +With February, 1768, came Sterne's 'Sentimental Journey' upon which +Wesley has this comment:-- 'I casually took a volume of what is called, +"A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy." 'Sentimental'! what is +that? It is not English: he might as well say, 'Continental' [!]. It is +not sense. It conveys no determinate idea; yet one fool makes many. And +this nonsensical word (who would believe it?) is become a fashionable +one!' ('Journal', February 11, 1772). In 1773, Goldsmith puts it in the +'Dedication' to 'She Stoops':-- 'The undertaking a comedy, not merely +'sentimental', was very dangerous;' and Garrick (forgetting Kelly and +'False Delicacy') uses it more than once in his 'Prologue' to the same +play, e.g. -- 'Faces are blocks in 'sentimental' scenes.' Further +examples might easily be multiplied, for the word, in spite of Johnson, +had now come to stay. Two years subsequently we find Sheridan referring +to + + The goddess of the woful countenance, + The 'sentimental' Muse! -- + +in an occasional 'Prologue' to 'The Rivals'. It must already have +passed into the vocabulary of the learned. Todd gives examples from +Shenstone and Langhorne. Warton has it more than once in his 'History of +English Poetry'; and it figures in the 'Essays' of Vicesimus Knox. Thus +academically launched, we need no longer follow its fortunes. + + + + + + + +APPENDIX D + +FRAGMENTS OF TRANSLATIONS, ETC., BY +GOLDSMITH. + +To the Aldine edition of 1831, the Rev. John Mitford added several +fragments of translation from Goldsmith's 'Essays'. About a third of +these were traced by Bolton Corney in 1845 to the 'Horace' of Francis. +He therefore compiled a fresh collection, here given. + + 'From a French version of Homer'. + The shouting army cry'd with joy extreme, + He sure must conquer, who himself can tame! + 'The Bee', 1759, p. 90. + +The next is also from Homer, and is proposed as an +improvement of Pope:-- + + They knew and own'd the monarch of the main: + The sea subsiding spreads a level plain: + The curling waves before his coursers fly: + The parting surface leaves his brazen axle dry. + 'Miscellaneous Works', 1801, iv. 410. + +From the same source comes number three, +a quatrain from Vida's 'Eclogues':-- + + Say heavenly muse, their youthful frays rehearse; + Begin, ye daughters of immortal verse; + Exulting rocks have crown'd the power of song! + And rivers listen'd as they flow'd along. + 'Miscellaneous Works', 1801, iv. 427. + +Another is a couplet from Ovid, the fish +referred to being the 'scarus' or bream:-- + + Of all the fish that graze beneath the flood, + He, 'only', ruminates his former food. + 'History of the Earth, etc.', 1774, iii. 6. + +Bolton Corney also prints the translation from the 'Spectator', already +given in this volume. His last fragment is from the posthumous +translation of Scarron's 'Roman Comique':-- + + Thus, when soft love subdues the heart + With smiling hopes and chilling fears, + The soul rejects the aid of art, + And speaks in moments more than years. + 'The Comic Romance of Monsieur Scarron', 1775, ii. 161. + +It is unnecessary to refer to any other of the poems attributed to +Goldsmith. Mitford included in his edition a couple of quatrains +inserted in the 'Morning Chronicle' for April 3, 1800, which were said +to be by the poet; but they do not resemble his manner. Another piece +with the title of 'The Fair Thief' was revived in July, 1893, by an +anonymous writer in the 'Daily Chronicle', as being possibly by +Goldsmith, to whom it was assigned in an eighteenth-century anthology +(1789-80). Its discoverer, however, subsequently found it given in +Walpole's 'Noble Authors' (Park's edition, 1806) to Charles Wyndham, +Earl of Egremont. It has no great merit; and may safely be neglected as +an important addition to Goldsmith's 'Works', already burdened with much +which that critical author would never have reprinted. + + + + + + +APPENDIX E + +GOLDSMITH ON POETRY UNDER ANNE AND +GEORGE THE FIRST. + +In Letter xvi, vol. ii. pp.139-41, of 'An History of England in a Series +of Letters from a Nobleman to his Son', 1764, Goldsmith gives the +following short account of the state of poetry in the first quarter of +the Eighteenth Century. + +'But, of all the other arts, poetry in this age was carried to the +greatest perfection. The language, for some ages, had been improving, +but now it seemed entirely divested of its roughness and barbarity. +Among the poets of this period we may place John Philips, author of +several poems, but of none more admired than that humourous one, +entitled, 'The Splendid Shilling'; he lived in obscurity, and died just +above want. William Congreve deserves also particular notice; his +comedies, some of which were but coolly received upon their first +appearance, seemed to mend upon repetition; and he is, at present, +justly allowed the foremost in that species of dramatic poesy. His wit +is ever just and brilliant; his sentiments new and lively; and his +elegance equal to his regularity. Next him Vanbrugh is placed, whose +humour seems more natural, and characters more new; but he owes too many +obligations to the French, entirely to pass for an original; and his +total disregard to decency, in a great measure, impairs his merit. +Farquhar is still more lively, and, perhaps more entertaining than +either; his pieces still continue the favourite performances of the +stage, and bear frequent repetition without satiety; but he often +mistakes pertness for wit, and seldom strikes his characters with proper +force or originality. However, he died very young; and it is remarkable, +that he continued to improve as he grew older; his last play, entitled +'The Beaux' Strategem', being the best of his productions. Addison, both +as a poet and prose writer, deserves the highest regard and imitation. +His 'Campaign', and 'Letter to Lord Halifax from Italy', are +masterpieces in the former, and his 'Essays' published in the +'Spectator' are inimitable specimens of the latter. Whatever he treated +of was handled with elegance and precision; and that virtue which was +taught in his writings, was enforced by his example. Steele was +Addison's friend and admirer; his comedies are perfectly polite, chaste, +and genteel; nor were his other works contemptible; he wrote on several +subjects, and yet it is amazing, in the multiplicity of his pursuits, +how he found leisure for the discussion of any. Ever persecuted by +creditors, whom his profuseness drew upon him, or pursuing impracticable +schemes, suggested by ill-grounded ambition. Dean Swift was the +professed antagonist both of Addison and him. He perceived that there +was a spirit of romance mixed with all the works of the poets who +preceded him; or, in other words, that they had drawn nature on the most +pleasing side. There still therefore was a place left for him, who, +careless of censure, should describe it just as it was, with all its +deformities; he therefore owes much of his fame, not so much to the +greatness of his genius, as to the boldness of it. He was dry, +sarcastic, and severe; and suited his style exactly to the turn of his +thought, being concise and nervous. In this period also flourished many +of subordinate fame. Prior was the first who adopted the French elegant +easy manner of telling a story; but if what he has borrowed from that +nation be taken from him, scarce anything will be left upon which he can +lay any claim to applause in poetry. Rowe was only outdone by +Shakespeare and Otway as a tragic writer; he has fewer absurdities than +either; and is, perhaps, as pathetic as they; but his flights are not so +bold, nor his characters so strongly marked. Perhaps his coming later +than the rest may have contributed to lessen the esteem he deserves. +Garth had success as a poet; and, for a time, his fame was even greater +than his desert. In his principal work, 'The Dispensary', his +versification is negligent; and his plot is now become tedious; but +whatever he may lose as a poet, it would be improper to rob him of the +merit he deserves for having written the prose dedication, and preface, +to the poem already mentioned; in which he has shown the truest wit, +with the most refined elegance. Parnell, though he has written but one +poem, namely, 'The Hermit', yet has found a place among the English +first rate poets. Gay, likewise, by his 'Fables' and 'Pastorals', has +acquired an equal reputation. But of all who have added to the stock of +English Poetry, Pope, perhaps, deserves the first place. On him, +foreigners look as one of the most successful writers of his time; his +versification is the most harmonious, and his correctness the most +remarkable of all our poets. A noted contemporary of his own calls the +English the finest writers on moral topics, and Pope the noblest moral +writer of all the English. Mr. Pope has somewhere named himself the last +English Muse; and, indeed, since his time, we have seen scarce any +production that can justly lay claim to immortality; he carried the +language to its highest perfection; and those who have attempted still +farther to improve it, instead of ornament, have only caught finery.' + + + + + + +APPENDIX F + +CRITICISMS FROM GOLDSMITH'S 'BEAUTIES +OF ENGLISH POESY.' + +To 'The Beauties of English Poesy', 2 vols., 1767, Goldsmith +prefixed, in each case, 'short introductory criticisms.' They +are, as he says, 'rather designed for boys than men'; and aim +only at being 'obvious and sincere'; but they carry his views on +the subject somewhat farther than the foregoing account from the +'History of England'. + + +THE RAPE OF THE LOCK. + +This seems to be Mr. Pope's most finished production, and is, +perhaps, the most perfect in our language. It exhibits stronger +powers of imagination, more harmony of numbers, and a greater +knowledge of the world, than any other of this poet's works; and +it is probable, if our country were called upon to show a +specimen of their genius to foreigners, this would be the work +here fixed upon. + + + +THE HERMIT. + +This poem is held in just esteem, the versification being +chaste, and tolerably harmonious, and the story told with +perspicuity and conciseness. It seems to have cost great labour, +both to Mr. Pope and Parnell himself, to bring it to this +perfection.* It may not be amiss to observe that the fable is +taken from one of Dr. Henry More's Dialogues. + +[footnote] *Parnell's 'Poems', 1770, xxiv. + + + +IL PENSEROSO. + +I have heard a very judicious critic say, that he had an higher +idea of Milton's style in poetry, from the two following poems +['Il Penseroso' and 'l'Allegro'], than from his 'Paradise Lost'. +It is certain the imagination shown in them is correct and +strong. The introduction to both in irregular measure is +borrowed from the Italian, and hurts an English ear. + + + +AN ELEGY, WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCH YARD. + +This is a very fine poem, but overloaded with epithet.* The +heroic measure with alternate rhyme is very properly adapted to +the solemnity of the subject, as it is the slowest movement that +our language admits of. The latter part of the poem is pathetic +and interesting. + +[footnote] *This is a strange complaint to come from Goldsmith, +whose own 'Hermit', as was pointed out to the present Editor by +the late Mr. Kegan Paul, is certainly open to this impeachment. + + + +LONDON. IN IMITATION OF THE THIRD SATIRE OF JUVENAL. + +This poem of Mr. Johnson's is the best imitation of the original +that has appeared in our language, being possessed of all the +force and satirical resentment of Juvenal. Imitation gives us a +much truer idea of the ancients than even translation could do. + + + +THE SCHOOL-MISTRESS. IN IMITATION OF SPENSER. + +This poem is one of those happinesses in which a poet excels +himself, as there is nothing in all Shenstone which in any way +approaches it in merit; and, though I dislike the imitations of +our old English poets in general, yet, on this minute subject, +the antiquity of the style produces a very ludicrous solemnity. + + + +COOPER'S HILL. + +This poem, by Denham, though it may have been exceeded by later +attempts in description, yet deserves the highest applause, as +it far surpasses all that went before it: the concluding part, +though a little too much crowded, is very masterly. + + + +ELOISA TO ABELARD. + +The harmony of numbers in this poem is very fine. It is rather +drawn out to too tedious a length, although the passions vary +with great judgement. It may be considered as superior to +anything in the epistolary way; and the many translations which +have been made of it into the modern languages, are in some +measure a proof of this. + + + +AN EPISTLE FROM MR. PHILIPS* TO THE EARL OF DORSET. + +The opening of this poem is incomparably fine. The latter part +is tedious and trifling. + +[footnote] *Ambrose Philips. + + + +A LETTER FROM ITALY, TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CHARLES LORD +HALIFAX. + +In the Year MDCCI. + +Few poems have done more honour to English genius than this. +There is in it a strain of political thinking that was, at that +time, new in our poetry. Had the harmony of this been equal to +that of Pope's versification, it would be incontestably the +finest poem in our language; but there is a dryness in the +numbers which greatly lessens the pleasure excited both by the +poet's judgement and imagination.* + +[footnote] *See introductory note to 'The Traveller', p. 162. + + + +ALEXANDER'S FEAST; OR, THE POWER OF MUSIC. AN ODE, IN HONOUR OF +ST. CECILIA'S DAY. + +This ode [by Mr. Dryden] has been more applauded, perhaps, than +it has been felt, however, it is a very fine one, and gives its +beauties rather at a third, or fourth, than at a first perusal. + + + +ODE FOR MUSIC ON ST. CECILIA'S DAY. + +This ode [by Mr. Pope] has by many been thought equal to the +former. As it is a repetition of Dryden's manner, it is so far +inferior to him. The whole hint of Orpheus, and many of the +lines, have been taken from an obscure Ode upon Music, published +in Tate's Miscellanies.* + +[footnote] *'A Pindaric Essay upon Musick' -- says Gibbs -- by +'Mr. Wilson',' which appears at p. 401 of Tate's Collection of +1685. + + + +THE SHEPHERD'S WEEK. IN SIX PASTORALS. + +These are Mr. Gay's principal performances. They were +originally intended, I suppose, as a burlesque on those of +[Ambrose] Philips; but, perhaps without designing it, he has hit +the true spirit of pastoral poetry. In fact, he more resembles +Theocritus than any other English pastoral writer whatsoever. +There runs through the whole a strain of rustic pleasantry which +should ever distinguish this species of composition; but how far +the antiquated expressions used here may contribute to the +humour, I will not determine; for my own part, I could wish the +simplicity were preserved, without recurring to such obsolete +antiquity for the manner of expressing it. + + + +MAC FLECKNOE. + +The severity of this satire, and the excellence of its +versification give it a distinguished rank in this species of +composition. At present, an ordinary reader would scarce suppose +that Shadwell, who is here meant by Mac Flecknoe, was worth +being chastised, and that Dryden's descending to such game was +like an eagle's stooping to catch flies.* The truth however is, +Shadwell, at one time, held divided reputation with this great +poet. Every age produces its fashionable dunces, who, by +following the transient topic, or humour, of the day, supply +talkative ignorance with materials for conversation. + +[footnote] *'Aquila non capit muscas' (Apostolius). + + + +ON POETRY. A RHAPSODY. + +Here follows one of the best versified poems in our language, +and the most masterly production of its author. The severity +with which Walpole is here treated, was in consequence of that +minister having refused to provide for Swift in England, when +applied to for that purpose in the year 1725 (if I remember +right). The severity of a poet, however, gave Walpole very +little uneasiness. A man whose schemes, like this minister's, +seldom extended beyond the exigency of the year, but little +regarded the contempt of posterity. + + + +OF THE USE OF RICHES. + +This poem, as Mr. Pope tells us himself, cost much attention and +labour; and, from the easiness that appears in it, one would be +apt to think as much. + + + +FROM THE DISPENSARY. + +This sixth canto of the 'Dispensary', by Dr. Garth, has more +merit than the whole preceding part of the poem, and, as I am +told, in the first edition of this work it is more correct than +as here exhibited; but that edition I have not been able to +find. The praises bestowed on this poem are more than have been +given to any other; but our approbation, at present, is cooler, +for it owed part of its fame to party.* + +[footnote] *Cf. Dedication of 'The Traveller', ll. 34-45. + + + +ECLOGUE I. SELIM: OR, THE SHEPHERD'S MORAL. + +The following eclogues*, written by Mr. Collins, are very +pretty: the images, it must be owned, are not very local; for +the pastoral subject could not well admit of it. The description +of Asiatic magnificence, and manners, is a subject as yet +unattempted amongst us, and I believe, capable of furnishing a +great variety of poetical imagery. + +[footnote] *i.e. -- Selim, Hassan, Agib and Secander, and Abra. +Goldsmith admired Collins, whom he calls in the 'Enquiry', 1759, +p. 143, 'the neglected author of the Persian eclogues, which, +however inaccurate, excel any in our language.' He borrowed +freely from him in the 'Threnodia Augustalis', q.v. + + + +THE SPLENDID SHILLING. BY MR. J. PHILIPS. + +This is reckoned the best parody of Milton in our language: it +has been an hundred times imitated, without success. The truth +is, the first thing in this way must preclude all future +attempts; for nothing is so easy as to burlesque any man's +manner, when we are once showed the way. + + + +A PIPE OF TOBACCO: IN IMITATION OF SIX SEVERAL AUTHORS. + +Mr. Hawkins Browne, the author of these, as I am told, had no +good original manner of his own, yet we see how well he +succeeded when he turns an imitator; for the following are +rather imitations than ridiculous parodies. + + + +A NIGHT-PIECE ON DEATH. + +The great fault of this piece, written by Dr. Parnell, is that +it is in eight-syllable lines, very improper for the solemnity +of the subject; otherwise, the poem is natural, and the +reflections just. + + + +A FAIRY TALE. BY DR. PARNELL. + +Never was the old manner of speaking more happily applied, or a +tale better told, than this. + + + +PALEMON AND LAVINIA.* + +Mr. Thomson, though, in general, a verbose and affected poet, +has told this story with unusual simplicity: it is rather given +here for being much esteemed by the public, than by the editor. + +[footnote] *From 'The Seasons'. + + + +THE BASTARD. + +Almost all things written from the heart, as this certainly was, +have some merit. The poet here describes sorrows and misfortunes +which were by no means imaginary; and, thus, there runs a truth +of thinking through this poem, without which it would be of +little value, as Savage is, in other respects, but an +indifferent poet. + + + +THE POET AND HIS PATRON. + +Mr. Mo[o]re was a poet that never had justice done him while +living; there are few of the moderns have a more correct taste, +or a more pleasing manner of expressing their thoughts. It was +upon these fables [Nos. v, vi, and xvi of the 'Fables for the +Ladies'] he chiefly founded his reputation; yet they are, by no +means, his best production. + + + +AN EPISTLE TO A LADY. + +This little poem, by Mr. Nugent [afterwards Lord Clare] is very +pleasing. The easiness of the poetry, and the justice of the +thoughts, constitute its principal beauty. + + + +HANS CARVEL. + +This bagatelle, for which, by the by, Mr. Prior has got his +greatest reputation, was a tale told in all the old Italian +collections of jests, and borrowed from thence by Fontaine. It +had been translated once or twice before into English, yet was +never regarded till it fell into the hands of Mr. Prior. A +strong instance how everything is improved in the hands of a man +of genius. + + + +BAUCIS AND PHILEMON. + +This poem [by Swift] is very fine; and though in the same strain +with the preceding [Prior's 'Ladle'] is yet superior. + + + +TO THE EARL OF WARWICK, ON THE DEATH OF MR. ADDISON. + +This elegy (by Mr. Ticknell) is one of the finest in our +language; there is so little new that can be said upon the death +of a friend, after the complaints of Ovid and the Latin +Italians, in this way, that one is surprised to see so much +novelty in this to strike us, and so much interest to affect. + + + +COLIN AND LUCY. + +Through all Tickell's works there is a strain of +ballad-thinking, if I may so express it; and, in this professed +ballad, he seems to have surpassed himself. It is, perhaps, the +best in our language in this way. + + + +THE TEARS OF SCOTLAND. WRITTEN IN THE YEAR MDCCXLVI. + +This ode, by Dr. Smollett, does rather more honour to the +author's feelings than his taste. The mechanical part, with +regard to numbers and language, is not so perfect as so short a +work as this requires; but the pathetic it contains, +particularly in the last stanza but one, is exquisitely fine. + + + +ON THE DEATH OF THE LORD PROTECTOR. + +Our poetry was not quite harmonized in Waller's time; so that +this, which would be now looked upon as a slovenly sort of +versification, was, with respect to the times in which it was +written, almost a prodigy of harmony. A modern reader will +chiefly be struck with the strength of thinking, and the turn of +the compliments bestowed upon the usurper. Everybody has heard +the answer our poet made Charles II; who asked him how his poem +upon Cromwell came to be finer than his panegyric upon himself. +'Your majesty,' replies Waller, 'knows, that poets always +succeed best in fiction.' + + + +THE STORY OF PHOEBUS AND DAPHNE APPLIED. + +The French claim this [by Mr. Waller] as belonging to them. To +whomsoever it belongs the thought is finely turned. + + + +NIGHT THOUGHTS. BY DR. YOUNG. + +These seem to be the best of the collection; from whence only +the two first are taken. They are spoken of differently, either +with exaggerated applause or contempt, as the reader's +disposition is either turned to mirth or melancholy. + + + +SATIRE I. + +Young's Satires were in higher reputation when published, than +they stand in at present. He seems fonder of dazzling than +pleasing; of raising our admiration for his wit, than our +dislike of the follies he ridicules. + + + +A PASTORAL BALLAD. + +These ballads of Mr. Shenstone are chiefly commended for the +natural simplicity of the thoughts and the harmony of the +versification. However, they are not excellent in either. + + + +PHOEBE. A PASTORAL. + +This, by Dr. Byrom, is a better effort than the preceding [a +ballad by Shenstone]. + + + +A SONG. + +This ['Despairing beside a clear stream'] by Mr. Rowe, is better +than anything of the kind in our language. + + + +AN ESSAY ON POETRY. + +This work, by the Duke of Buckingham, is enrolled among our +great English productions. The precepts are sensible, the poetry +not indifferent, but it has been praised more than it deserves. + + + +CADENUS AND VANESSA. + +This is thought one of Dr. Swift's correctest pieces; its chief +merit, indeed, is the elegant ease with which a story, but +ill-conceived in itself, is told. + + + +ALMA: OR, THE PROGRESS OF THE MIND. + +What Prior meant by this poem I can't understand; by the Greek +motto to it one would think it was either to laugh at the +subject or the reader. There are some parts of it very fine; and +let them save the badness of the rest. + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Complete Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith + diff --git a/old/cpwog10.zip b/old/cpwog10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..089449c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/cpwog10.zip diff --git a/old/cpwog10h.zip b/old/cpwog10h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2c231c8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/cpwog10h.zip |