disbursements; so unsettled in his mode of living, and imprudent in gaming; and altogether so little accustomed to regulate his expenses by any system of economy, that at last his debts greatly exceeded his resources; and their accumulation towards the close of his life was by no means matter of astonishment. These debts, however, consisted chiefly of sums that he had taken up in advance, from the managers of the two theatres, for comedies which he had engaged to furnish to each; and from the booksellers for publications which he was to finish for the press; all which engagements he fully intended, and would probably have been able to fulfil, as he had done on former occasions in similar exigencies; but his premature death unhappily prevented the execution of his plans. The friends of Goldsmith, literary as well as personal, were exceedingly numerous, and so attached to his memory, that they determined to honour his remains with a public funeral, and to bury him in Westminster Abbey. His pall was to have been supported by Lord Shelburne, Lord Louth, Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Hon. Mr Beauclerk, Mr Edmund Burke, and Mr Garrick. Some circumstances, which have never been explained, occurred to prevent this resolution from being carried into effect. It is generally believed that the chief reason was a feeling of delicacy, suggested by the disclosure of his embarrassed affairs, and the extraordinary amount of his debts. He was, therefore, privately interred in the Temple burying-ground, a few select friends paying the last sad offices to his remains. A short time afterwards, however, the members of the Literary Club suggested, and zealously promoted, a subscription to defray the expense of a monument to his memory. The necessary funds were soon realized, and the chisel of Nollekens was employed to do honour to the poet. The design and workmanship of this memorial were purposely simple and inexpensive. It was erected in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, between the monument of Gay and that of the Duke of Argyll. On this occasion, the statuary is admitted to have produced a good likeness of the person com memorated. The bust of Goldsmith is exhibited in a large medallion, embellished with literary ornaments, underneath which is a tablet of white marble, with the following Latin inscription by Dr Johnson, * This Latin inscription having been undertaken at the suggestion of a meeting which took place in the house of Mr Cumberland, when some members of the Literary Club were present, Johnson, either out of deference to them, or from the carelessness and modesty which characterised him as to his own writings, submitted the composition to the revisal of Sir Joshua Reynolds, with a request to show it afterwards to the Club for their approval. << I have been kept away from you,» says he, in a card to Sir Joshua, « I know not well how; and of these vexatious hindrances I know not when there will be an end. I therefore send you the poor dear Doctor's epitaph. Read it first yourself; and, if you then think it right, show it to the Club. I am, you know, willing to be corrected. If you think any thing much amiss, keep it to yourself till we come together." The epitaph was accordingly laid before the Club soon afterwards, and though no alteration was made, yet it gave rise to a great deal of discussion, and was productive of a curious literary jeu d'esprit, not only singular in itself, but remarkable for the celebrated names connected with it. · This jeu d'esprit,» says Sir William Forbes, in a letter to Mr Boswell, « took its rise one day at dinner at our friend Sir Joshua Reynolds's. All the company present, except myself, were friends and acquaintance of Dr Goldsmith. The epitaph, written for him by Dr Johnson, became the subject of conversation, and various emendations were suggested, which it was agreed should be submitted to the Doctor's considera In addition to this eulogium on the literary qualities of his friend, Johnson afterwards honoured his memory with the following tetrastick in Greek. Τὸν τάφον εἰσοράας τοῦ Ολιβαρίοιο, κονίην << Thou beholdest the tomb of OLIVER! press not, O stranger, with the foot of folly, the venerable dust. Ye who care for nature, for the charms of song, for the deeds of ancient days, weep for the historian, the naturalist, the poet. »> The general cast of Goldsmith's figure and physiognomy was not engaging, and the impression made by his writings, on the mind of a stranger, was not confirmed by the external graces of tion. But the question was, Who should have the courage to propose them to him? At last it was hinted, that there could be no way so good as that of a Round Robin, as the sailors call it, which they make use of when they enter into a conspiracy, so as not to let it be known who puts his name first or last to the paper. This proposition was instantly assented to; and Dr Barnard, dean of Derry, now bishop of Killaloe, drew up an address to Dr Johnson on the occasion, replete with wit and humour, but which, it was feared, the Doctor might think treated the subject with too much levity. Mr Burke then proposed the address as it stands in the paper in writing [the paper was enclosed], to which I had the honour to officiate as clerk. << Sir Joshua agreed to carry it to Dr Johnson, who received it with much goodhumour, and desired Sir Joshua to tell the gentlemen that he would alter the epitaph in any manner they pleased, as to the sense of it; but he would never consent to disgrace the walls of Westminster Abbey with an English inscription. I consider this Round Robin,» continues Sir William, << as a species of literary curiosity worth preserving, as it marks, in a certain degree, Dr Johnson's character.» The following transcript of it, as given by Mr Boswell, may gratify such of our readers as are curious in literary anecdote : We, the circumscribers, having read with great pleasure an intended epitaph for the monument of Dr Goldsmith, which, considered abstractedly, appears to be, for elegant composition and masterly style, in every respect worthy of the pen of its learned author, are yet of opinion, that the character of the deceased, as a writer, particularly as a poet, is perhaps not delineated with all the exactness which Dr Johnson is capable of giving it. We, therefore, with deference to his superiour judgment, humbly request that he would at least take the trouble of revising it, and of making such additions and alterations as he shall think pro their author. In stature he was somewhat under the middle size; his body was strongly built, and his limbs, as one of his biographers expresses it, were more sturdy than elegant. His forehead was low, and more prominent than is usual; his complexion pallid; his face almost round, and pitted with the smallpox. His first appearance was therefore by no means capti vating: yet the general lineaments of his countenance bore the stamp of intellect, and exhibited traces of deep thinking; and, when he grew easy and cheerful in company, he relaxed per, upon a further perusal. But if we might venture to express our wishes, they would lead us to request, that he would write the epitaph in English, rather than in Latin; as we think that the memory of so eminent an English writer ought to be perpetuated in the language to which his works are likely to be so lasting an ornament, which we also know to have been the opinion of the late Doctor himself. The circumscribers to this curious remonstrance, agreeably to their respective signatures, were as follows: viz.-Edm. Burke, Tho. Franklin, Ant. Chamier, G. Colman, Wm Vackell, J. Reynolds, W. Forbes, T. Barnard, R. B. Sheridan, P. Metcalfe, E. Gibbon, Jos. Warton. This hasty composition, as remarked by Mr Boswell, is one of the thousand instances which evince the extraordinary promptitude of Mr Burke, who, while he was equal to the greatest things, could adorn the least; could with equal facility embrace the vast and complicated speculations of politics, or the ingenious topics of literary investigation. It is also an eminent proof of the reverence with which Johnson was regarded by some of the ablest men of his time, in various departments, and even by such of them as lived most with him. Although Johnson was in great good-humour with the production as a jeu d'esprit, yet, on seeing Dr Warton's name to the suggestion that the epitaph should be in English, he observed to Sir Joshua, I wonder that Joe Warton, a scholar by profession, should be such a fool.» He said too, «I should have thought Mund Burke would have had more sense." Mr Langton, who was one of the company at Sir Joshua's, like a sturdy scholar, resolutely refused to sign the Round Robin. On another occasion, when somebody endeavoured to argue in favour of its being in English, Johnson said, « The language of the country of which a learned man was a native, is not the language fit for his epitaph, which should be in ancient and permanent language. Consider, sir, how you should feel, were you to find at Rotterdam an epitaph upon Erasmus in Dutch!» Perhaps on this subject Mr Boswell's suggestion is the best. For my part," says he, « I think it would be proper to have epitaphs written both in a learned language and in the language of the country, so that they might have the advantage of being more universally understood, and, at the same time, be secured of classical stability.»> into such a display of benevolent good-humour, as soon removed every unfavourable impression. His pleasantry in company, however, sometimes degenerated into buffoonery; and this circumstance, coupled with the inelegance of his person and deportment, often prevented him from appearing to so much advantage as might have been expected from his learning and genius. The aptitude of Goldsmith to blunder in conversation has excited considerable surprise when contrasted with his powers as a writer. His literary associates used to be struck with the disparity, and some of them puzzled themselves to account for it. Sir Joshua Reynolds once mentioned that he had frequently heard Goldsmith talk warmly of the pleasure of being liked, and observe how hard it would be if literary excellence should preclude a man from that satisfaction, which he perceived it often did, from the envy that attended it. « I am, therefore, convinced," said Sir Joshua, « that he was often intentionally absurd in conversation, in order to lessen himself in social intercourse, trusting that his character would be sufficiently supported by his works." But this appears to be the excess of refinement in conjecture; and Mr Boswell's reason, which ascribed it to Goldsmith's « vanity, and an eager desire to be conspicuous wherever he was," though less charitable, is more consistent with probability. The truth, however, may have been, that Goldsmith, having constantly before him the example of extraordinary conversational abilities in Johnson, either from the spirit of competition, or the ambition to excel in such a fascinating talent, was tempted to a frequent display of his own powers in the same line. Our excessive anxiety to do any thing well, often defeats the end we have in view; and it is not unlikely that, on such occasions, this was the fate of Goldsmith. Yet, notwithstanding all his mistakes, he had gleams of eloquence; and, although Mr Boswell studies to make him a foil to Johnson, there are instances among the conversations reported by that gentleman, where Goldsmith shines as the most rational and elegant interlocutor of the whole. Hence it is reasonable to conclude, that the accounts which have been transmitted of the |