first appearance was not captivating; but when he grew eafy and cheerful in company, he relaxed into fuch a display of good humour, as foon removed every unfavourable impreffion. Yet it must be acknowledged that in company he did not appear to fo much advantage as might have been expected from his genius and talents. He was too apt to speak without reflection, and without a fufficient knowledge of the fubject; which made Johnson obferve of him, "No man was more foolish "when he had not a pen in his hand, or more wife "when he had."* Indeed with all his defects, (to conclude nearly in the words of that great critic,) "As a writer he was of the moft diftinguished abili❝ties. Whatever he compofed, he did it better "than any other man could.. And whether we "confider him as a Poet, as a Comic Writer, or "as an Hiftorian, (fo far as regards his powers of compofition,) he was one of the first writers of "his time, and will ever ftand in the foremost "clafs." *Bofwell's Life, Vol. IV. p. 29. * Ibid. Vol. III. p. 273. END OF THE LIFE. ADVERTISEMENT. ́ THERE are a hundred faults in this Thing, and a hundred things might be faid to prove them beauties. But it is needless. A book may be amufing with numerous errors, or it may be very dull without a fingle abfurdity. The hero of this piece unites in himself the three greatest characters upon earth; he is a priest, an husbandman, and the father of a family. He is drawn as ready to teach, and ready to obey, as fimplé in affluence, and majestic in adversity. In this age of opulence and refinement whom can fuch a character pleafe? Such as are fond of high life will turn with difdain from the fimplicity of his country fire-fide. Such as mistake ribaldry for humour will find no wit in his harmless conversation; and fuch as have been taught to deride religion will laugh at one, whose chief ftores of comfort are drawn from futurity. OLIVER GOLDSMITH. THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD. CHAP. I. The defcription of the family of Wakefield, in which a kindred likeness prevails as well of minds as of perfons. I WAS ever of opinion, that the honest man who married and brought up a large family, did more service than he who continued fingle and only talked of population. From this motive, I had fcarcely taken orders a year before I began to think seriously of matrimony, and chofe my wife as he did her wedding-gown, not for a fine gloffy furface, but fuch qualities as would wear well. To do her juftice, The was a good-natured notable woman; and as for breeding, there were few country ladies who could She could read any English book without much spelling; but for pickling, preferving, and cookery none could excel her. She prided herself alfo upon being an excellent contriver in housekeeping; though I could never find that we grew richer with all her contrivances. fhew more. However, we loved each other tenderly, and our fondness increased as we grew old. There was in fact nothing that could make us angry with the world or each other. We had an elegant houfe, fituated in a fine country, and a good neighbourhood. The year was spent in moral or rural amusements; in vifiting our rich neighbours, and relieving fuch as VOL. I. B were were poor. We had no revolutions to fear, nor fatigues to undergo; all our adventures were by the fire-fide, and all our migrations from the blue bed to the brown. As we lived near the road, we often had the traveller or firanger vifit us to taste our goofeberry wine, for which we had great reputation; and I profefs with the veracity of an hiftorian, that I never knew one of them find fault with it. Our coufins too, even to the fortieth remove, all remembered their affinity, without any help from the herald's office, and came very frequently to fee us. Some of them did us no great honour by these claims of kindred; as we had the blind, the maimed, and the halt amongst the number. However, my wife always infifted that as they were the fame flesh and blood, they fhould fit with us at the fame table. So that if we had not very rich, we generally had very happy friends about us; for this remark will hold good through life, that the poorer the guest, the better pleased he ever is with being treated: and as fome men gaze with admiration at the colours of a tulip, or the wing of a butterfly, fo I was by nature an admirer of happy human faces. However, when any one of our relations was found to be a perfon of very bad character, a troublesome gueft, or one we defired to get rid of, upon his leaving my houfe, I ever took care to lend him a riding coat, or a pair of boots, or fometimes an horfe of fmall value, and I always had the fatisfaction of finding he never came back to return them. By this the house was cleared of fuch as we did not like; but never was the family of Wakefield known to turn the traveller or the poor dependant out of doors. Thus we lived feveral years in a flate of much. happiness, not but that we fometimes had thofe little rubs which Providence fends to enhance the value of its favours. My orchard was often robbed by fchool boys, |