other short poems, were not printed till after his death. He had at this time ready for the press, The Grecian History, from the earliest State to the Death of Alexander the Great,' which was afterwards printed in 2 vols. 8vo. He had also formed a design of compiling a Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences,' a prospectus of which he printed and sent to his friends, many of whom had promised to furnish him with articles on different subjects. The booksellers, however, though they had a high opinion of his abili ties, were startled at the bulk, importance, and expense of so great an undertaking, the execution of which was to depend upon a man with whose indolence of temper, and method of procrastination, they had long been acquainted: the coldness with which they met his proposals was lamented by Goldsmith to the hour of his death; which seems to have been accelerated by a neglect of his health, occasioned by continual vexation of mind on account of his frequently involved circumstances, although the last year's produce of his labour is generally believed to have amounted to 1800l. In the spring of 1774 he was attacked in a very se vere manner by the strangury, a disease of which he had often experienced slight symptoms. It now induced a nervous fever, which required medical assistance; and on the 25th of March he sent for his friend Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Hawes, to whom he related the symptoms of his malady, expressing at the same time a disgust with life, and a despondency which did not well become a man of his understanding. He told Mr. Hawes that he had taken two ounces of ipecacuanha wine as an emetic, and that it was his intention to take Dr. James's fever powders, which he desired he would send him. Mr. Hawes represented to his patient the impropriety of taking the medicine at that time; but no argument could induce him to relinquish his intention. Finding this, and justly apprehensive of the fatal consequences of his putting this rash resolve in execution, he requested permission to send for Dr. Fordyce, of whose medical abilities he knew that Goldsmith had the highest opinion. Dr. Fordyce came, and corroborated the apothecary's assertion, adding every argument that he could think of to dissuade him from using the powders in the present case; but, deaf to all the remonstrances of his physician and his friend, he obstinately persisted in his resolution. The next day Mr. Hawes again visited his patient, and inquiring of him how he did, Goldsmith sighed deeply, and in a dejected tone said, I wish I had taken your friendly advice last night.' Dr. Fordyce came, and, finding the alarming symptoms increase, desired Mr. Hawes to propose sending for Dr. Turton: to this Goldsmith readily consented. The two physicians met, and held consultations twice a day till Monday, April 4, when their patient died. Warmth of affection induced Sir Joshua Reynolds and other friends or Goldsmith to lay a plan for a sumptuous public funeral; according to which he was to have been interred in Westminster Abbey, and his pall to have been supported by Lord Shelburne (afterwards Marquis of Lansdowne), Lord Louth, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mr. Edmund Burke, the Hon. Topham Beauclerc, and Mr. Garrick: but on a slight inspection of his affairs it was found that, so far from having left property to justify so expensive a proceeding, he was about 2000. in debt. The original intention, therefore, was abandoned; and he was privately interred in the Temple burial-ground at five o'clock on Saturday evening, April 9, attended by the Rev. Joseph Palmer (nephew of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and afterwards Dean of Cashel in Ireland), Mr. Hugh Kelly, Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Hawes, Messrs. John and Robert Day, and Mr. Etherington. A subscription, however, was speedily raised among Goldsmith's friends, but chiefly by the Literary Club; and a marble monumental stone, executed by Nollekens, consisting of a large medallion exhibiting a good resemblance of our author in profile, embellished with appropriate ornaments, was placed in Westminster Abbey, between those of Gay the poet and the Duke of Argyle, in Poets' Corner; having underneath, on a tablet of white marble, the following inscription, from the pen of his friend Dr. Johnson: OLIVARII GOLDSMITH, Poetæ, Physici, Historici, Nullum quod tetigit non ornavit: Affectuum potens et lenis dominator: Lectorum veneratio. Natus in Hiberniâ, Forneiæ Longfordiensis, Apr. IV. MDCCLXXIV. Of which the following is a translation :- The fidelity of his friends, And the veneration of his readers, OLIVER GOLDSMITH, A poet, a natural philosopher, and an historian, Who left no species of writing untouched by his pen; Nor touched any that he did not embellish : Whether smiles or tears were to be excited, He was a powerful yet gentle master Over the affections; Johnson had been misinformed in these particulars: it has been since ascertained that he was born at Elphin, in the county of Ro common, Nov. 29, 1728. Of a genius at once sublime, lively, and In expression at once lofty, elegant, and graceful. At a place called Pallas, in the parish of Forney, 29th Nov. 1731.* Educated at Dublin, And died in London, 4th April, 1774. Beside this Latin epitaph, Dr. Johnson honoured the memory of Goldsmith with the following short one in Greek : Τὸν τάφον εἰσοράας τον Ολιβαρίοιο, κονίην "Αφροσι μὴ σεμνην, Ξεῖνε, πόδεσσι πἄτει· · ἴσι μέμηλε φυσις, μέτρων χάρις, ἔργα παλαιοῦν Mr. Boswell, who was very intimately acquainted with Goldsmith, thus speaks of his person and cha racter: The person of Goldsmith was short; his countenance coarse and vulgar; his deportment that of a scholar, awkwardly affecting the complete gentleman. No man had the art of displaying, with more advantage, whatever literary acquisitions he made. His mind resembled a fertile but thin soil; there was a quick but not a strong vegetation of whatever chanced to be thrown upon it. No deep root could be struck. The oak of the forest did not grow there; but the elegant shrubbery, and the fragrant parterre, appeared in gay succession. It has been generally circulated, and believed, that he was a mere fool in conversation. In allusion to this, Mr. Horatio Walpole, who admired his writings, said, he was "an inspired idiot;" and Garrick describes him as one, for shortness call'd Noll, Who wrote like an angel, and talk'd like poor Poll." See the Note in the preceding page. But, in reality, these descriptions are greatly exagge rated. He had, no doubt, a more than common share of that hurry of ideas, which we often find in his countrymen, and which sometimes introduces a laughable confusion in expressing them. He was very much what the French call un étourdi: and from vanity, and an eager desire of being conspicuous wherever he was, he frequently talked carelessly, without any knowledge of the subject, or even without thought. Those who were any ways distinguished, excited envy in him to so ridiculous an excess, that the instances of it are hardly credible. He, am told, had no settled system of any sort, so that his conduct must not be too strictly criticised; but his affections were social and generous; and when he had money, he bestowed it liberally. His desires of imaginary consequence frequently predominated over his attention to truth. His prose has been admitted as the model of perfection, and the standard of the English language. Dr. Johnson says, "Goldsmith was a man of such variety of powers, and such felicity of performance, that he seemed to excel in whatever he attempted; a inan who had the art of being minute without tediousness, and generally without confusion; whose language was capacious without exuberance; exact with out restraint; and easy without weakness." His merit as a poet is universally acknowledged. His writings partake rather of the elegance and harmony of Pope, than the grandeur and sublimity of Milton; and it is to be lamented, that his poetical productions are not more numerous; for though his ideas flowed rapidly, he arranged them with great caution, and occupied much time in polishing his periods, and harmonizing his numbers. His most favourite poems are, "The Traveller," "Deserted Village," ," "Hermit," and "Retaliation." These productions may justly be ranked with the most admired works in English poetry. "The Traveller" delights us with a display of charming imagery, refined ideas, and happy expres |