1

the score of appearances, receive at home the visits of the many distinguished individuals who sought his acquaintance, and were desirous of cultivating his friendship. About the same time, he began to pay more attention to his dress; he assumed the physician's scarlet cloak, wig, sword, and cane, and along with them no small share of the importance which is said to have belonged to the medical practitioners of the last century. He now also proposed to employ an amanuensis, both because this was a more dignified way of committing his thoughts to paper, and, being more easy, might lighten the labour of his numerous literary engagements; but, upon trial, he found this would not do. The young man whose services he had engaged, having taken his place at the desk, Goldsmith for some time paced his apartment to no purpose; he at last made a full stop, and his secretary and he gazed at each other for a minute or two in silence, when our author, finding that his head and fingers must work together, slipped a guinea into the hand of his astonished clerk, and hastily dismissed him. But we are slightly anticipating the order of our narrative.

When "The Club," sometimes called the Literary Club, was instituted in 1763, or 1764, Goldsmith was one of the original members. This celebrated club, which exhibited on its list many of the most distinguished names adorning the early part of the nineteenth century, as well as those famous in Dr. Johnson's time,' was founded by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Dr. Johnson, and at first consisted of twelve members, viz. the illustrious founders, Mr. Edmund Burke, Dr. Nugent (Burke's fatherin-law), Mr. Topham Beauclerk, Mr. Langton, Dr. Goldsmith, Mr. Chamier (Under Secretary of State), and Sir John Hawkins, who soon after underwent a sort of civil expulsion for having uttered some malicious reflections against Mr. Burke. They met for

1 Sir Walter Scott's Memoir of Goldsmith.'

3

2 For a fuller account of this distinguished body, see Malone's 'Life and Writings of Sir Joshua Reynolds,' vol. i., p. 49, and Boswell's 'Life of Johnson' (Bohn's), Appendix to vol. ii., &c.

3 Vide Dr. Percy, who became a member of the club in 1768. For a complete list of the members of the club, since its institution, see Bohn's edition of Boswell's 'Life of Johnson,' Appendix to vol. ii. [A later list, coming down to 1882, is given by the Rev. Alexander Napier in his new edition of Boswell's 'Johnson.' Mr. N. tells us, on the authority of Mr. H. Reeve, “The Club's" present treasurer, that after the Thatched House was pulled down in 1863, the members met at the Clarendon in

some years once a week, on the Monday evenings, at the Turk's Head, in Gerard Street, Soho, and, after supping together, generally sat till a late hour. They afterwards migrated about till they settled at the Thatched House, a famous inn for clubs and meetings, St. James's Street. Goldsmith appreciated the advantages of intercourse with such men too highly, to neglect the ordinary meetings of the Club. He accordingly began to estrange himself from the low haunts and mean company which he had hitherto been in the habit of frequenting, and for which he never entirely lost a relish; observing, that a man must sacrifice something for the honour of being admitted into such society. Like Falstaff, when he found his honours accumulating, he resolved to forswear bad company, to purge and live cleanly, as a gentleman should do.

In 1765 he fairly emerged from the obscurity of a bookseller's drudge, and, by the publication, in December, 1764, of 'The Traveller,' put forth his claim to a place among the most successful candidates for poetical fame. This poem at once established his reputation. It was pronounced by Dr. Johnson, to whose judgment and friendly revision it had been submitted before publication,' to be the finest poem since Pope's time. Mr. Fox praised it as "one of the finest poems in the English language; " and the public confirmed this opinion by an eager demand for repeated impressions; so that, in the course of eight years, it passed through nine large editions. From this time, Goldsmith's reputation as an author stood so high as to procure him many attentions from those who either were, or wished to be thought, friends to learning and learned men. Among others, Lord Nugent, afterwards Viscount Clare, courted his acquaintance, and continued ever after to live with him on terms of the most intimate familiarity and friendship. By this nobleman he was recommended to Earl Percy, afterwards Duke of Northumberland, who was at that time Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; and, in consequence, Goldsmith was invited by the Earl, through his friend Dr. Percy, to an interview. He accordingly waited upon him at the time appointed, but, by an unlucky blunder, disqualified himself for making so favourable an impression on the Earl as he had fondly anticipated. He had been shown into an antechamber, where he Albemarle Street, but removed in 1869 to Willis's Rooms, where the meetings are still held.-ED.]

·

1 Boswell's Life of Johnson,' vol. ii., p. 308.

66

waited for some time, conning his acknowledgment for the honour which had been done him, when the Earl's groom of the chambers happening to make his appearance, the poet, who mistook him for his master, addressed to him all the fine things which he had prepared for the occasion. At that instant the Earl himself entered the room, and Goldsmith, being made sensible of the blunder which he had committed, was so disconcerted, that, according to his own account, he wanted words barely sufficient to express a sense of his Excellency's politeness, and went away greatly chagrined.' Sir John Hawkins gives some farther particulars of this curious interview. He had been calling on the Earl the same morning, and waited to take Goldsmith home. Upon his coming out, Sir John asked him the result of his conversation. "His Lordship," said Goldsmith, "told me he had read my poem (meaning 'The Traveller'), and was much delighted with it; that he was going Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and that, hearing that I was a native of that country, he should be glad to do me any kindness." “And what did you answer," said Hawkins, “to this gracious offer?” "Why," said he, "I could say nothing, but that I had a brother there, a clergyman, that stood in need of help. As for myself, I have no dependence on the promises of great men: I look to the booksellers for support: they are my best friends, and I am not inclined to forsake them for others." "Thus," adds Hawkins, "did this idiot in the affairs of the world, trifle with his fortunes, and put back the hand that was held out to assist him!" But the circumstance which Sir John adduces as a proof of Goldsmith's folly, will be viewed by less harsh judges as an instance of magnanimity and disinterested affection. His recommendation in favour of his brother, however, was not attended to by the Earl; though that nobleman, on his return from Ireland, continued to cultivate the poet's acquaintance, and professed his regret that he had not been informed, during his government, of a wild scheme which Goldsmith at that time cherished, of making the tour of Asia, or, as others say, of penetrating into the interior of Africa, as he would have secured him the means of 1 Dodsley's Annual Register' for 1774 (Characters, p. 32), from Goldsmith's own account of the interview. See also 'Life' by Dr. Percy.

6

4

3

2 Sir John Hawkins's 'Life of Johnson,' 1787,

p. 419.

3 Dr. Percy. He applied to Lord Bute for a salary, to enable him to put this project in execution; but his application was neglected or refused. 4 Sir Egerton Brydges. See his Censura Literaria,' vol. v., p. 60.

prosecuting his travels, on the Irish establishment.

This scheme

of traversing the unexplored regions of the East, to obtain a knowledge of the peculiar arts of the oriental world, with a view of enriching his own country by the importation, he could never be prevailed upon entirely to relinquish, though his friends always laughed at it as chimerical.' "Of all men," Dr. Johnson once observed to a friend, "Goldsmith is the most unfit to go out upon such an inquiry; for he is utterly ignorant of such arts as we already possess, and consequently could not know what would be accessions to our present stock of mechanical knowledge. Sir, he would bring home a grinding-barrow, which you see in every street in London, and think he had furnished a wonderful improvement."

Of his interview with the Earl of Northumberland, though he derived from it neither immediate nor prospective advantage, he could not resist boasting to his acquaintance. An ingenious bailiff, who had a writ against him, is said to have taken advantage of this vanity of being noticed by the great, and, by corresponding with him in the character of steward to a nobleman who had read his poem, and was desirous of an interview with the author, inveigled him to a coffee-house, where he immediately produced his writ. The debt, which happened to be trifling, was discharged upon the spot, by Mr. Hamilton, printer of the 'Critical Review,' an old friend of Goldsmith; and thus the affair ended with less inconvenience to the poet's person than mortification to his vanity.3 Many similar stories have been recorded of his great simplicity, but they generally rest upon too slender evidence to entitle them to much credit.

Having already distinguished himself in various departments of polite literature, he now turned his attention to the drama, and, in 1768, produced his comedy, the 'Good-Natured Man.' This play was greatly admired by Mr. Burke, who perused it in manuscript and, encouraged by his approbation, and that of other eminent literary friends, Goldsmith offered it for representation, first to Garrick, by whom, after some hesitation, it

See his paper, recommending this scheme, in the Citizen of the World.' Letter 108.

2 Boswell's Life of Johnson' (Langton's 'Collectanea'), vol. vii., p. 369.

3 Life prefixed to the early editions of his Poems. Goldsmith himself tells the same story of a poor author in the 'Citizen of the World,' Letter 30.

1

was declined, and afterwards to Colman, by whom it was accepted. It was, accordingly, produced at Covent Garden, January 29, 1768, and was acted, for nine successive nights, with considerable applause. Its success was not so decided, however, as we should have expected of certainly one of the most admirable comedies in the language, full of wit, originality, and character. Croaker, in particular, is an exquisitely drawn character, and the acting of Shuter is said to have given it additional excellence. Goldsmith confessed that he took the hint of this character from Suspirius, in Johnson's 'Rambler.'

The Royal Academy was instituted in 1768, and in 1769 Goldsmith had the honour of being appointed to one of its professorships, that of Ancient History, in which he was succeeded by Edward Gibbon, the celebrated historian. In the same institution, Dr. Samuel Johnson held the appointment of Professor of Ancient Literature.2 These distinctions were merely honorary, and attended with neither emolument nor trouble; but the professors, in virtue of their office, enjoyed the privilege of a place at the extraordinary meetings of the society, and at their annual dinner.

He was now engaged in finishing his poem, the 'Deserted Village,' having already, as he confessed in his dedication to Sir Joshua Reynolds, been employed for some years in collecting materials. It is worthy of remark, that Goldsmith, whose beautiful prose flowed from his pen with great ease and rapidity, and seldom underwent any after correction, bestowed great pains upon his verses. He wrote with wide intervals between the lines, to leave space for interlineation, and his corrections were so numerous, that scarcely a word of the original text remained unaltered.3 He also availed himself of the judgment of his friend Dr. Johnson, unquestionably the first critic of his age, to whom he submitted for correction the manuscripts of his two great poems, the Traveller' and the 'Deserted Village;' and this latter poem, in particular, he himself retouched so carefully before committing it to the press as

1 According to Davies, Garrick was willing to accept the play, but he wished to be courted to it; and Goldsmith was too much persuaded of his own importance and independent greatness to make any concession to the manager's vanity.

2 Boswell's Life of Johnson,' vol. iii., p. 66.

3 Dr. Percy: Life,' p. 113.