his forehead was low and more prominent than usual, his complexion pallid, his face almost round, and marked with the smallpox. His first appearance therefore was not captivating, yet the lineaments of his countenance bore the stamp of intellect and thought, and when he grew easy and cheerful in company, he relaxed into such playful goodhumour, as soon removed every unfavourable impression. His pleasantry in company however is said often to have degenerated into buffoonery; and this circumstance, united to the inelegance of his person, and the awkwardness of his deportment, prevented his appearing to so much advantage as might have been expected from his talents and genius.

His aptitude to blunder, and the deficiency in his reasoning talent, has often been the subject of discussion, and has excited much surprise, when contrasted with his great and general powers as a writer. Sir J. Reynolds, who knew him long and intimately, considered that he wished to disperse that awe that is supposed to surround the characters of authors, and forbid the familiarity of approach. Mr. Boswell attributed it to his vanity and desire to shine. Others have thought, and not without reason, that having constantly before him the example of extraordinary conversational abilities in Johnson, from an ambition to excel in such a fascinating talent, he was tempted into too frequent a display of his own inferior powers.

Of all solemn coxcombs,' says Dr. Joseph Warton, Goldsmith is the first, yet sensible but affects to use Johnson's hard words in conversation.'70 Perhaps the chief fault of Goldsmith was in his being 71 always over hurried: he was too apt to speak without reflection, or a sufficient knowledge of his subject. He touched humorously on his own weakness when he said, 'That he always argued best when alone.' Walpole, too severely, called him an inspired idiot :' and Dr. Johnson observed, 'That no man was more foolish when he had not a pen in his hand, nor more wise when he had.'

The strong features of benevolence and humanity that distinguished the Poet's disposition, were unhappily contaminated by an envious and captious jealousy of the attainments of others, and the distinction that attended them. 72 Every 70 See Wooll's Life of Warton, p. 312.

71 Mrs. Piozzi has favoured us with one specimen of Goldsmith's table talk. Poor Dr. Goldsmith said once, 'I would advise every young fellow setting out in life to love gravy ;' and added, he had formerly seen a glutton's eldest nephew disinherited, because his uncle never could persuade him to say he liked gravy. Piozzi's Travels, vol. ii. p. 315. Boswell says that Goldsmith was often fortunate, even when he entered the lists with Johnson himself: see an instance given on the subject of writing fables in character, when he tells Johnson, 'If you were to make little fishes talk, they would talk like whales.' v. vol. ii. p. 220.

72

What Mrs.

v. Mrs. Piozzi's Letters, i. p. 186. This is unfortunately corroborated by one of Beattie's Letters, 1788. Piozzi says of Goldsmith is perfectly true.

He was a poor

one,' says Mrs. Piozzi, 'loves Dr. Beattie but Goldsmith, who says he cannot bear the sight of so much applause as they all bestow upon him. Did he not tell us so himself, who could believe he was so exceedingly ill natured.' Of this failing he was himself conscious, and used to complain of the uneasiness it gave him.

Vanity was another of his weaknesses, and it was remarked of him, 'that he referred every thing to that passion, that his virtues and his vices too were from that motive.' He was vain of his literary consequence. In the simplicity of his heart, he complained of Lord Camden,' I met him,' he said, at Lord Clare's house, in the country, and he took no more notice of me than

fretful creature, eaten up with affectation and envy. He was the only person I ever knew who acknowledged himself to be envious. In Johnson's presence he was quiet enough, but in his absence expressed great uneasiness in hearing him praised. He envied even the dead: he could not bear that Shakespeare should be so much admired as he is; but surely he had no occasion to envy me, which however he certainly did, for he owned it, though when we met he was always very civil; and I received undoubted information that he seldom missed an opportunity of speaking ill of me behind my back. His common conversation was a strange mixture of absurdity and silliness; of silliness so great as to make me think sometimes he affected it; yet he was a great genius of no mean rank,' &c. v. Forbes's Beattie, vol. iii. p. 130, and Northcote's Life of Reynolds, p. 188, where Goldsmith is said to have blamed Sir Joshua for flattering Beattie in his allegorical picture, at the expense of Voltaire. Dr. B. and his book will not be heard of in ten years to come, while your picture and the fame of Voltaire will live for ever.'

if I had been an ordinary man.'73 In reciting verses he was very vain of his harmonious voice and correct judgment. I was (says Mr. Malone)74 in company with him and Dr. Johnson, and after dinner, the conversation happening to turn on that subject, Goldsmith maintained that a poet was more likely to pronounce verse with accuracy and spirit than other men. He was called upon to support his argument by an example, a request with which he readily complied, and he repeated the first stanza of the ballad beginning with the words' At Upton on the hill,' with such false emphasis, by marking the word on' very strongly, that all the company agreed he had by no means established his position.

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I shall close this account of poor Goldsmith's weaknesses, the follies of the wise,' by a highly entertaining anecdote, for which I am obliged to the last and improved edition of Boswell's Johnson. 'One day as Colonel O'Moore and Mr. Burke were going to dine with Sir Joshua Reynolds, they observed Goldsmith, also on his way to Sir Joshua's, standing near a crowd of people, who were staring and shouting at some foreign women in the windows of some of the houses in Leicester Square. Observe Goldsmith,' said Mr. Burke, and mark what passes between him and

73 See a humorous instance of his jealousy when in company with Graham (who wrote the Masque of Telemachus) and Dr. Johnson, in Boswell, ii. p. 330.

74 See Malone's Life of Dryden, p. 518.

h

me by and by at Sir Joshua's.' They passed on, and arrived before Goldsmith, who came soon after, and Mr. Burke affected to receive him very coolly. This seemed to vex poor Goldsmith, who begged Mr. Burke to tell him how he had the misfortune to offend him. Burke appeared very reluctant to speak, but after a good deal of pressing, said, 'That he was really ashamed to keep up an intimacy with one who could be guilty of such monstrous indiscretions as Goldsmith had just exhibited in the square. Goldsmith, with great earnestness, pretended he was quite unconscious of what was meant. " Why,' said Burke, ' did you not exclaim, as you were looking up at those women, what stupid beasts the crowd must be for staring with such admiration at these painted jezebels, while a man of your talents passed unnoticed.' Goldsmith was horror-struck, and said, 'Surely, surely, my dear friend, I did not say so.' Nay,' replied Burke, if you had not said so, how should I have known it?' 'That's true,' answered Goldsmith, with great humility, 'I am very sorry, it was very foolish; I do recollect that something of the kind passed through my mind, but I did not think I had uttered it.'75 There is something in this anecdote, as the editor observes, that looks a little too highly coloured, but in the main, it is no doubt true. The catalogue of our poor Poet's frailties and weaknesses is now sufficiently complete; let us at length 1. Croker's Edition of Boswell's Johnson, vol. i. p. 423.

75

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